Venus in Vulcan's Forge (Summer)

In Albani's cycle of the seasons, summer belongs to the forge. At the lower left sits Vulcan, bearded and gripping his hammer, behind Venus, who reclines on a blue cloth and points toward his workshop. There the cupids are making the weapons of love. Some work at the fire, two turn a big grindstone, and one hovers above them tipping water from a golden jug. In the foreground another bends over a small chest to string a bow. Over on the right, a few cupids practise, shooting at a heart painted on a shield hung in a tree. From a cloud at the top, the chaste huntress Diana, a crescent moon in her hair, watches them. In 1658 Prince Giovanni Battista Borghese moved the four tondi from the family villa to his palace in the city for safety, and had copies painted for the villa.