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About This Work
Mars and Venus lie exposed in bed, entangled in a gossamer-thin metal net forged by Vulcan, who pulls back a curtain to reveal their adultery. From the heavens, Mercury, Jupiter, Neptune, and other gods gaze down at the pair, while Cupid sits in the foreground amidst Mars's discarded armor. In the background, a small window shows Vulcan's forge where the Cyclopes work at an anvil.
In the Neoplatonic tradition of Ficino and Pico della Mirandola, the union of Mars (strife) and Venus (love) represents the cosmic principle of Harmony (Harmonia). The presence of the planetary gods and the 'eye' of Sol (Apollo/Phoebus) revealing the scene links the image to the broader Renaissance theme of the Sun as the all-seeing light of Truth and the soul's exposure before the divine.