William Blake Richmond was an English painter of some distinction. Here in Venus and Anchises, the goddess of love visits her chosen lover Anchises.
Their love bears them a son Aeneas who was to go on to heroically found the city of Rome. Venus is borne along on a carriage of blossoming flowers that is drawn by two lions, signifying the fierce future heroism of their son and his city. She is resplendent in gold while Anchises awaits her in the shade. Richmond painted this in 1889 or 1890 when he was 48 years of age.
William Blake Richmond’s Venus and Anchises is in the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool.