Mars Being Disarmed by Venus

Mars Being Disarmed by Venus
ArtistJacques-Louis David
Year1824
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions308 cm × 265 cm (121 in × 104 in)
LocationMusées royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, Brussels

Mars Being Disarmed by Venus is the last painting produced by the French artist Jacques-Louis David. He began it in 1822 (aged 73) during his exile in Brussels and completed it three years later, before dying in an accident in 1825. The work combines idealization with elements of realism. Specifically, David integrated the idealized forms of mythological painting with a realist attention to detail. This combination of two seemingly incompatible principles also plays an important role in the themes of the painting, most notably in its treatment of masculinity and femininity.

David sent the painting from Brussels for exhibition in Paris, where Romanticism was ascendant in the Salon. The painting initially received a muted response from critics, but over time its reputation has grown. It is now displayed in the main hall of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium in Brussels.