Who painted “Mars and Venus at the chess”?

“Mars and Venus at the chess” was painted by Alessandro Varotari in 1635. Where to see it: Grand ducal collection, Oldenburg.

Mannerism

What to look for

Mannerism: High Renaissance figures are balanced and natural; Mannerist ones are stretched, crowded and theatrical, with unusual colour and unclear space. Baroque, after it, returns to weight and drama.

Alessandro Leone Varotari (4 April 1588 – 20 July 1649), also commonly known as Il Padovanino, was a Venetian painter of the late-Mannerist and early-Baroque Venetian school, best known for having mentored Pietro Liberi, Giulio Carpioni, and Bartolommeo Scaligero. Wikipedia

Test yourself: a round on Alessandro Varotari

More by Alessandro Varotari

“Venus with an Amor”
“Cornelia mother of the Gracchi”, 1620
“The Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins”
“Portrait of a Lady with a Vase”, 1640s
“Judith with the head of Holofernes”, 1636
“Christ and the Woman Taken in Adultery”, 1630s
“Judith”, 1640s
“Justice and Peace”, 1649