On This Day

Suffragettes in London damage Rokeby's painting Venus of Velasquez

The Rokeby Venus (also known as The Toilet of Venus, Venus at her Mirror, Venus and Cupid and, in Spanish, La Venus del espejo) is a painting by Diego Velázquez, the leading artist of the Spanish...

The Rokeby Venus (also known as The Toilet of Venus, Venus at her Mirror, Venus and Cupid and, in Spanish, La Venus del espejo) is a painting by Diego Velázquez, the leading artist of the Spanish Golden Age. Completed between 1647 and 1651, and probably painted during the artist's visit to Italy, the work depicts the goddess Venus in a sensual pose, lying on a bed with her back facing the viewer, and looking into a mirror held by the Roman god of physical love, her son Cupid. The painting is in the National Gallery, London.

Numerous works, from the ancient to the baroque, have been cited as sources of inspiration for Velázquez. The nude Venuses of the Italian painters, such as Giorgione's Sleeping Venus (1510) and Titian's Venus of Urbino (1538), were the main precedents.

Historical Significance

The Rokeby Venus (also known as The Toilet of Venus, Venus at her Mirror, Venus and Cupid and, in Spanish, La Venus del espejo) is a painting by Diego Velázquez, the leading artist of the Spanish Golden Age.

Events Before

  1. The US Post Office begins parcel post delivery

    The Bronx General Post Office (also known as the Bronx Central Post Office or Bronx Central Annex) is a historic post office building at 558 Grand Concourse in the South Bronx in New York City, New…

  2. British House of Commons accepts Home Rule for Ireland (but the Great War gets in the way of it happening)

    British House of Commons accepts Home Rule for Ireland (but the Great War gets in the way of it happening)

  3. China's National Assembly opens in Peking, the first free democratic parliament in Chinese history

    The National Assembly was the legislative branch of the Beiyang government during the Republican era of Chinese history.

  4. US Admiral Chester Nimitz (28) weds Catherine Freeman (21) in Wollaston, Massachusetts

    US Admiral Chester Nimitz (28) weds Catherine Freeman (21) in Wollaston, Massachusetts

  5. US Actors' Equity Association forms (NYC)

    The 1919 Actors' Equity Association strike officially spanned from August 7, 1919, to September 6, 1919.

Events After

  1. "The Birth of a Nation" the first 12-reel film in America, directed by D. W. Griffith, starring Lillian Gish and Mae Mar

    "The Birth of a Nation" the first 12-reel film in America, directed by D. W. Griffith, starring Lillian Gish and Mae Marsh, premieres at Clune's Auditorium in Los Angeles

  2. French forces attempt to drive the Germans back into the Champagne region during World War I, gaining a few hundred yard

    French forces attempt to drive the Germans back into the Champagne region during World War I, gaining a few hundred yards at the cost of 50,000 casualties

  3. First military use of poison gas occurs when Germany uses chlorine gas against the Allies along the Western Front at Ypr

    First military use of poison gas occurs when Germany uses chlorine gas against the Allies along the Western Front at Ypres, France in World War I [1]

  4. First landings at Gaba Tepe and Cape Helles on the Gallipoli Peninsula by ANZAC forces during World War I

    The landing at Anzac Cove on Sunday, 25 April 1915, also known as the landing at Gaba Tepe and, to the Turks, as the Arıburnu Battle, was part of the amphibious invasion of the Gallipoli Peninsula by...

  5. RMS Lusitania is sunk by a German submarine off the southern coast of Ireland, with 1,198 lives lost

    RMS Lusitania is sunk by a German submarine off the southern coast of Ireland, with 1,198 lives lost

More from the 1910s

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on March 10, 1914?
The Rokeby Venus (also known as The Toilet of Venus, Venus at her Mirror, Venus and Cupid and, in Spanish, La Venus del espejo) is a painting by Diego Velázquez, the leading artist of the Spanish Golden Age. Completed between 1647 and 1651, and probably painted during the artist's visit to Italy, the work depicts the goddess Venus in a sensual pose, lying on a bed with her back facing the viewer, and looking into a mirror held by the Roman god of physical love, her son Cupid. The painting is in the National Gallery, London.
Why is Suffragettes in London damage Rokeby's painting Venus of Velasquez significant?
The Rokeby Venus (also known as The Toilet of Venus, Venus at her Mirror, Venus and Cupid and, in Spanish, La Venus del espejo) is a painting by Diego Velázquez, the leading artist of the Spanish Golden Age.

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