Rokeby Venus connoisseurs steal a glance without drawing the said posterior into the company". The "Rokeby Venus" was long held to be one of Velázquez's final works. In 1951, it was found recorded in an inventory of 1 June 1651 from the collection of Gaspar Méndez de Haro, 7th Marquis of Carpio, a close associate of Philip IV of Spain. Haro was the great-nephew of Velázquez's first patron, the Count-Duke of Olivares, and a notorious libertine. According to the art historian Dawson Carr, Haro "loved paintings almost as much as he loved women", and "even his panegyrists lamented his excessive taste for
Venus and Musician death in 1510 Titian had completed his "Dresden Venus", and then around 1534 had painted the "Venus of Urbino". A repetition of this from 1545, perhaps a lost recorded "Venus" sent to Charles V, "was the basis" for the "Venus and Musician" series. Unlike these, the Cupid in most versions of "Venus and Musician" does allow a clear identification of the female as Venus, despite the modern decor. Otherwise the painting falls into the category showing courtesans, though these are also often described as "Venus", if only to retain some propriety. In all an unembarassed Venus is completely naked, except