A Visit to Aesculapius

It depicts a scene from a poem by the Elizabethan writer Thomas Watson, inspired by Greek mythology. Asclepius, the god of medicine and healing, is visited by Venus who has a thorn in her foot. She is accompanied by her handmaidens, the three Graces. They all appear completely naked. The scene takes place at night; Asclepius is seated in a chair and appears thoughtful. A dog lies by his side, and a man dressed in red is at the left. One of the Graces, with her back to the viewer, is seen addressing a woman who came fill her bucket with water from a fountain, at the right. Several doves, which are attributes of Venus, appear in the scene.^[4]

The painting was displayed at the Royal Academy's Summer Exhibition of 1880 at Burlington House in London. It was acquired for the nation as part of the Chantrey Bequest.^[5]

• Becker, Edwin. Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema. Rizzoli, 1997.
• Smith, Alison. The Victorian Nude: Sexuality, Morality, and Art. Manchester University Press, 1996.
• Wood, Christopher. Olympian Dreamers: Victorian Classical Painters, 1860-1914. Constable, 1983.