Allegoria coniugale

Titian painted this around 1530 for Alfonso d'Avalos, the Marquis del Vasto, a general in the service of the Emperor Charles V. It is an allegory of marriage. A richly dressed woman in the guise of Venus holds a crystal globe, an armoured man rests his hand on her shoulder, and a small Cupid reaches in among them. The exact story it tells has been argued over for centuries, and the picture has carried several names, including the Allegory of Alfonso d'Avalos. What is plain is the pairing of love and war, the soldier and the bride, set out in the warm Venetian colour that made Titian sought after by courts across Europe. The crystal orb in the woman's hand is often read as a sign of the trials any marriage must weather.