The Toilet of Venus (Spring)

In October 1622 a gilder in Rome was paid for three round frames carved with garlands of fruit, meant for "the three pictures by Albano". The buyer was Cardinal Scipione Borghese, nephew of Pope Paul V, who that year acquired four tondi by Albani following the seasons. The gallery traces the idea to Philostratus, an ancient Greek writer who described cupids at play through the year. Venus holds sway over spring, summer and autumn, and winter goes to the chaste goddess Diana.

Here it is spring. Venus sits in a gilded chariot while three nymphs, perhaps the Graces, dress her hair and a cupid holds up her mirror. Above them cupids climb a tree and toss down its fruit, and on the right others swim below a waterfall. The gallery dates the set to 1616 and 1617, though some scholars have argued for 1621 or 1622.