Venus in front of the Mirror

Johann Liss was born in the far north of Germany, near Oldenburg, and might have stayed a provincial painter had he not gone south to Venice in the 1620s. There he became one of the most gifted colourists at work in the city, taking up the warmth of Venetian painting while keeping a northern relish for skin, silk and flesh. This Venus at her mirror dates from those Venetian years, around 1625. A small cupid holds the glass while the goddess studies herself, the paint loose and glowing, more about the sheer pleasure of looking than any lesson on vanity. Liss had little time to build on work like this. He died in Verona in December 1631, having left Venice as the plague of 1630 to 1631 killed roughly a third of the city, probably still in his thirties. The composition was copied for generations, though the hand that first painted it was already gone.