| Venus Rising from her Couch | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | James Ward |
| Year | 1828 |
| Type | Oil on panel, history painting |
| Dimensions | 76.2 cm× 65.4 cm(30.0 in× 25.7 in) |
| Location | Yale Center for British Art, New Haven |
Venus Rising from her Couch is an 1828 mythological history painting by the English artist James Ward. [1] [2] It depicts the Roman goddess Venus rising from a couch. As often depicted in paintings she is accompanied by swans. It pays homage to the style of the Old Masters Titian and Peter Paul Rubens and also to the more recent painter Henry Fuseli. [3]
In 1830 it was displayed at the Royal Academy's Summer Exhibition at Somerset House along with another pendant piece by Ward Diana at the Bath. Critics honed in on their unseemly nudity with one reviewer arguing the painting "possesses not one redeeming virtue to atone for its indelicacy". Today the painting is in the collection of the Yale Center for British Art. [4]