Focus on this artwork and explain the Subject and context.
The painting's subject is taken from Metamorphoses, a narrative poem by the Roman poet Ovid.  It portrays the hunter Adonis sleeping in Venus' lap. In front of her is her son Cupid, with a sighthound. Cupid is portrayed while trying to quench the dog's desire to hunt, as Venus had forecast that Adonis would die during a hunt.  In the background is a lively green landscape, with a vivid blue sky. The painting was executed after Veronese had spent a period in Rome. He modelled his Cupid on the Hellenistic sculpture of a boy with a goose, while Adonis may be modelled on an illustration of Endymion on a Roman sarcophagus in the Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran.The pendant of this painting, also created by Veronese in the same period, is Cephalus and Procris. It portrays another tragic couple from Metamorphoses, and is now in the Museum of Fine Arts of Strasbourg.
pendant Ovid Endymion Cephalus and Procris Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran sighthound Cupid sarcophagus Museum of Fine Arts of Strasbourg Venus Metamorphoses Adonis