"Mars and Venus Surprised by Vulcan" was an oil painting created by Alexandre Charles Guillemot in 1827. Alexandre Charles Guillemot was a french neoclassical painter born in 1786 and died in 1831. He studied art under the famous Jacques-Louis David, who specialized in neoclassicism and romanticism. Guillemot focused his artwork on religious events and mythological subjects, such as the gods and their daily lives. In 1808, Guillemot won the Prix de Rome, which is a french scholarship for art students originally started by King Louis XIV. From 1814 to 1833, his artwork was displayed the Salon de Paris or the Paris Salon, which was the art exhibit of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris, France. Guillemot even won a first place medal for his art that hung in the exhibits.
The piece depicts the moment when Vulcan, Venus' husband, caught her and Mars in his steel trap. In the center foreground of the painting, Venus is fully nude and in an embrace with Mars, her lover. To the right of the couple, Vulcan lays on the "adulterous bed" while hold a net, which he handcrafted himself, to catch the two in their shameful act. Vulcan's face expresses his anger with his wife, but also the satisfaction embarrassing the two gods. In the upper righthand corner, the clouds, or doorway to Olympus, reveals the many gods watching from above. From the position of their bodies, it is obvious how invested the gods are in the infidelity of Mars and Venus. From Venus’ expression and her rosy red cheeks, it can be inferred that she feels great shame from being exposed by her husband, in front of all the other gods.
While the composition of the painting is very beautiful, there are a few flaws to the story. The net, which Vulcan is holding, was supposed to be nearly invisible to the eye, for it was spun thinner than a spider's web. The net in Guillemots's painting is very visible and eye catching. Also, Vulcan was not the one who triggered the trap, the movements of Venus and Mars on the bed are what triggered the net to trap them. The painting is not very clear, but the gods in the corner do not appear to be laughing or smiling. In Ovid's story, the gods were highly amused by the scene and even made remarks about the affair of Venus and Mars.