Baroque · 17th century
Hand-painted reproduction after
Diego Velázquez
Rokeby Venus
These sizes keep the painting’s true proportions. Want a different shape? Email us and we’ll adapt it.
Framing never costs more than the painting. Compare rolled, stretched and framed
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- Photo before it ships
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After you order
What happens next
The painting
Rokeby Venus
Lying on her bed with her back to us, Venus looks into a mirror that Cupid holds, his bow and arrows nowhere in sight. The face that comes back is blurred and far larger than it would really be, and since we can see it she cannot be looking at herself, an optical puzzle now called the Venus effect. Infrared shows she was first painted more upright, head turned left. In 1914 the suffragette Mary Richardson slashed the canvas seven times with a meat cleaver; every cut was repaired.The only surviving female nude by Velázquez, painted around 1647 to 1651. Venus lies with her back to us on a dark grey sheet while Cupid holds up a mirror. Her face appears in it, but blurred, so the painting never quite shows who she is. It takes its name from Rokeby Park in Yorkshire, where it hung for almost a century before the National Gallery in London bought it in 1906. In 1914 a suffragette slashed the canvas; the cuts were repaired.We paint it by hand in oil after you order. You see a photo of the finished canvas and say yes before it is sent.
About the original
- Painted in
- 1644
- Original size
- 122.5 × 175 cm (48.2 × 68.9 in)
- Where it hangs
- National Gallery, London
Detail
Specification
| Medium | Oil on canvas |
| Painting size | |
| Framed size | |
| Frame | |
| Orientation | |
| Dominant colour | |
| Arrives | Rolled, ready for local framing |
| Packed | Rolled in a protective tube |
| Turnaround | 3 to 4 weeks, then delivery |
The hand behind it
Diego Velázquez
Velázquez spent most of his career as a court official to Philip IV, which limited what he painted and sharpened how he painted it. The royal portraits are unsparing: the Habsburg jaw is not corrected, the expressions are tired. Las Meninas, from 1656, is the painting art historians cannot stop writing about. The artist stands at his own canvas, the royal couple appear only as a reflection, a princess and her attendants occupy the foreground, and the whole arrangement puts the viewer in a position that keeps shifting. He also painted court dwarfs with the same seriousness he gave the king, which was unusual to the point of remarkable. Two trips to Italy loosened the handling considerably. The Rokeby Venus and the portrait of Innocent X came out of that period. Manet called him the painter of painters.
All paintings by this artistLooking after it
Care and hanging
Before you buy
Questions
How is the finish priced?
The price you see is the painting at the size you chose, in the finish you chose, and it updates as you change either. Rolled arrives in a protective tube, ready for local framing. Stretched arrives on wooden bars, ready to hang. Framed arrives in its frame, ready to hang. Stretched and framed go up to 60 × 90 cm (24 × 36 in); larger paintings travel rolled.
How long does it take?
Painting begins after you order and takes 3 to 4 weeks, including drying and the photo you approve. Delivery then takes 4 to 10 working days to most countries. More on delivery times.
Will it look exactly like the original?
It is painted by a person, so no. Brushwork varies between copies, which is the difference between a painting and a poster.
What if I do not like it?
Ninety days from delivery, full refund.
Can I get Rokeby Venus in a different size or shape?
Yes. Rokeby Venus is painted to the size you want, in the original’s proportions, or adapted to another shape on request. Stretched and framed go up to 60 x 90 cm (24 x 36 in). The original measures 122.5 x 175 cm (48.2 x 68.9 in).
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