Return of the Gods

The rediscovery of antiquity

Nothing is so typical for Renaissance art as the world of ancient gods and heroes. Italy is the classic soil of ancient culture. Finds of Roman statues turn into sensations, princes, clerics and patricians become collectors. The Renaissance is also making its way into the north. From there throngs of artists head towards Italy to perfect their skills there.

Art conveys complex thoughts as never before at a high intellectual level. Ancient figures are ideal for this. The more complicated the content of an artwork is, the more it is appreciated. Such complex programmes give both artists and clients the opportunity to demonstrate their own education and competence. Erotic scenes warrant particular applause. They flatter the eye of the connoisseur. Painters often take classical themes on the occasion, to prove their skills with sophisticated nude studies.

Bartholomäus Spranger (1546–1611), Mars, Venus and Amor

Image Credits

Artworks at a glance

Mars, Venus and Cupid

Under Emperor Rudolf II (1576–1612), the Habsburg Court in Prague becomes a leading centre of late Renaissance art. The court painter is the Flemish Bartholomew Spranger. His work indicates a fondness for the refined, for the maniera. The mannerist period owes its name to this.

The union of Mars and Venus is not only an example of mythical eroticism, but also of the ambivalence of human nature, which despite everything still finds harmonious unity. Harmonia is also the name of the child, who emerges from the relation between the two gods. Behind this is concealed an allegory to peace: Love triumphs over war. Amor triumphs over the weapons of Mars.

Despite its subtle presentation, behind this lovemaking of Mars and Venus lies a serious truth of which contemporary protagonists are only too aware: for it is not Cupid but Mars who rules the hour. Around 1600 Europe is beset by seemingly endless wars, conflicts of faith and power struggles. In these circumstances, the triumph of love is nothing more than a distant pipe dream.

Bartholomäus Spranger (1546–1611), Mars, Venus and Cupid

Venus, Bacchus and Ceres

The theme of the depiction is a saying by the Roman poet Terence: Sine Baccho et Cerere friget Venus Without Bacchus and Ceres, Venus freezes. Venus seeks the company of Ceres, the goddess of crops, and of the wine god Bacchus. For the pleasure of love requires earthly nourishment.

The two paintings in Graz belonged to a cycle which was commissioned by Rudolf II in Prague. The cycle deals with the nature of love, a popular subject of erudite conversations.

Bartholomäus Spranger (1546–1611), Venus, Bacchus und Ceres

Happiness and misfortune – ultimately, gods are only people

The world of classical mythology is not an ideal world. There is at times fierce enmity among the gods. The immortals are many things, except one: they are not infallible They are aware of jealousy and lust as they are of goodness and grace. In reality, it is earthly, not otherworldly, characteristics which determine the daily will and actions of the gods. For the artist, they are welcome players in an erudite allegory. Invoked here is the ancient ideal of the Golden Age, the Aetas aurea, a time of carefree peace and effortless enjoyment of life.

The immortals enjoy a lavish feast. Even Mars and Hercules have put down their weapons, Saturn rests his deadly scythe. Only in peacetime can arts and commerce flourish. Apollo, God of the arts, accompanies the feast on his lyre, Mercury, protector of commerce, adds his flute to this. But even the most beautiful feast is threatened, as in this case by the harpies, winged ugly beings who tarnish everything with their faeces. Here, too, the reminder in the background is that even the happiest moment is short-lived.

Frans Floris (um 1520–1570), Feast of the Gods

Naked Warrior

Modelled by Leonhard Magt and cast by Stefan Godl in Innsbruck, this figure – the precise name of which cannot be established – is one of the earliest independent bronze statuettes of the Renaissance in the German-speaking world. Striking, here, are the slender physique and unheroic gesticulation; the position of the sword and sheath does not indicate any sign of tension or evoke any thoughts of combat, just as the lowered, melancholy gaze reveals reflection rather than action. Unlike his Italian contemporaries, the artist does not follow any specific model from antiquity. Instead, attention is focused exclusively on details, such as the carefully thought-through design of the limbs, the meticulous characterisation of the hair and beard style as well as the subtle surfaces of the skin and the base plate. One explanation for the motif may reside in the humanist thought that the human body is as fragile as a vessel: corpus quasi vas.

The sculpture was created due to a bet between the client, the ruler of Tyrol, Archduke Ferdinand, with a group of Augsburg citizens who had claimed that there were better bronze-founders than Godl. In their mind’s eye, they were probably thinking very close of their own foundry tradition. This may account for the extraordinary quality of the artwork. According to credible historical sources, the bronze-founder was strictly forbidden to undertake any reworkings of the piece, which underscores the high standards of this virtuoso work of art.