The Triumph of Venus is a popular theme, treated most famously in the Rococo style by Francois Boucher in 1740. This painting by Rudolf Friedrich von Deutsch (German, b. 1835 in Moscow) was completed in 1888 and shares the same subject. Here, Venus is depicted nude, central to the composition, as she rises up from the ocean, supported and surrounded by nymphs and tritons who all celebrate her as the goddess of love. Cherubic Cupid flies above her head, identifiable for holding a bow and arrow. The colours in this romantic painting are the pinks and pastel blues of the Rococo, and the subject matter is treated lightly and whimsically.
The painting is framed in a finely carved and detailed giltwood frame. The canvas is signed and dated in the lower left 'F. Deutsch / Cop 1888.'