Cleaned Venus

Behold a freshly cleaned Venus and Adonis owned by the Dulwich Picture Gallery in London. It was bought as a Titian by the Gallery’s founder Noël Desenfans in the 1790s. Over a century ago it was demoted to the status of a 17th century copy, due to its poor condition and extensive retouching. It has been in storage ever since. Now restored, it has been dated to Titian's lifetime and is considered to be a significant work from his studio. It is known he made a number of copies of this popular subject for different patrons. The Gallery will finally return the painting to public display on 10 July as the centrepiece at the end of its historic enfilade. CLICK for before-and-after photos.