Rokeby Park of Venus by Diego Velázquez, now known in English as The Rokeby Venus. The original now hangs in the National Gallery, London and a copy hangs in the saloon at Rokeby Park. Sir Walter Scott was a regular visitor to the house, and used it as the setting to his epic poem "Rokeby" in 1812. The building is also of interest in its own right. Completed in 1735 (and known at the time as Rokeby Hall) by Sir Thomas Robinson, it is considered a fine example of the italianate Palladian style. Robinson owned it until 1769, when he sold it
The Birth of Venus (Cabanel) The Birth of Venus (Cabanel) The Birth of Venus (French: "Naissance de Venus") is a painting by the French artist Alexandre Cabanel. It was painted in 1863, and is now in the Musée d'Orsay in Paris. A second and smaller version (85 x 135.9 cm) from ca. 1864 is in Dahesh Museum of Art. A third (106 x 182.6 cm) version dates from 1875; it is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Shown to great success at the Paris Salon of 1863, "The Birth of Venus" was immediately purchased by Napoleon III for his own personal