Venus and Adonis from a set of Mythological Subjects after Raphael designed 1686, woven 1686-90 Designed after drawing previously attributed to Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio or Santi) Italian Her chariot just visible to the right, Venus, Roman goddess of love, is seated, attended by her winged putti-cherubs and a sun-weathered satyr. The older, winged youth brandishing a torch is perhaps meant to be Hymen, god of marriage. Venus turns to devote her attention to handsome mortal Adonis, apparently just returned from hunting, still bearing his spear, with a putto restraining his (beautifully observed) hunting hounds.This tapestry is from a set of eight, traditionally called Les Sujets de la Fable daprès Raphaël, made for the French king, Louis XIV. The designs for all eight tapestries were inspired in part upon drawings then in Louis XIV's collection- now preserved in the Louvre- which were all, at that time, attributed to Raphael. The design source of the figure group is a drawing in the Lo