JANSSENS, Abraham
(b. 1575, Antwerpen, d. 1632, Antwerpen)

Venus and Adonis

c. 1620
Oil on canvas, 200 x 240 cm
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

There is no evidence in Janssens's later work of any interest in the dynamic flamboyance of the High Baroque, which was introduced by Rubens from 1620 onwards. On the other hand, in some paintings, such as the Venus and Adonis, a greater feeling of space and an elegiac atmosphere are suggested by the detailed background landscape, as if he wanted to adjust for the general preference of the time for a livelier and more lyrical design.