Fountain of Venus

François Boucher

Cleveland Museum of Art

The painting depicts a woman, Venus, reclining on a rock formation surrounded by water. She is nude, with a green wreath on her head and her body angled to her right. Her right arm rests on her stomach, and her left arm is bent at the elbow with her hand near her head. A white dove is flying behind her. Two cherubs are positioned behind her and to her right, while a third figure, a man with a beard and a serpent-like body, emerges from the water at the bottom. The background features a ruined stone structure with vines and trees growing around it. A small archway is visible in the distance. The sky above is blue with white clouds. The painting is signed "F. Boucher 1739" on a stone in the bottom right corner.