Neoclassical statue of handsome youth Adonis, Ancient Greek god of beauty and desire. Stands in the Rose Garden at Hampton Court, the historic royal palace beside the River Thames, in the London Borough of Richmond-upon-Thames, England.
Hampton Court Palace, in the London Borough of Richmond-upon-Thames, England: Adonis, the archetypal beautiful youth of Ancient Greek mythology, portrayed in a neoclassical statue helping to form the centrepiece to the Rose Garden at Hampton Court, the historic royal palace beside the River Thames founded in the early 16th century by Cardinal Thomas Wolsey. In the classical world, Adonis was the handsome lover of the goddess Aphrodite (Greek) or Venus (Roman), and was worshipped as the male god of beauty and of desire. At Hampton Court, his statue shares the central space in the Rose Garden with a neoclassical statue of Flora, Roman goddess of flowers and of the season of spring, and with 'Abundance', by the British sculptor Francis Derwent Wood (1871-1926), which depicts a mother cradling her infant son's head as she prepares to breastfeed him. The Rose Garden was formed in the early 20th century on land used from 1689 as a kitchen garden to supply vegetables and herbs to the court of King William III and Queen Mary II, who reigned jointly in the late-17th century. Before that, the site was part of the Tiltyard, where competitors trained for jousting tournaments and other entertainment during the 16th century reign of Tudor monarch, King Henry VIII.
Size: 2832px × 4256px
Location: Hampton Court, East Molesey, Surrey, England, UK
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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