Venus, the goddess of love, is shown full-length, seated nude at a dressing table. Cupid hovers at her right shoulder, and she turns and reaches up to caress him with her right arm.

A very similar picture (with changes in the pose of Cupid and in the drapery) was formerly at Cassel. That version was signed ‘JACOBVS PAL…’ on a casket in the lower right corner. The Royal Collection version is the more sophisticated of the two and although it has subsequently been attributed to Pourbus there can be no doubt that the original attribution to Palma Giovane is correct.