Rokeby Venus with blond hair, Velázquez's Venus is a brunette. The female figure can be identified as Venus because of the presence of her son, Cupid. Venus gazes into a mirror held by Cupid, who is without his usual bow and arrows. When the work was first inventoried, it was described as "a nude woman", probably owing to its controversial nature. Venus looks outward at the viewer of the painting through her reflected image in the mirror. However, the image is blurred and reveals only a vague reflection of her facial characteristics; the reflected image of the head is much larger than
William Rokeby William Rokeby William Rokeby (died 29 November 1521) was a leading statesman and cleric in early sixteenth-century Ireland, who held the offices of Bishop of Meath, Archbishop of Dublin and Lord Chancellor of Ireland. He is commemorated in the Rokeby Chapels in two Yorkshire churches, St Oswald's Church, Kirk Sandall, and Halifax Minster. He was born at Kirk Sandall, near Doncaster in South Yorkshire, eldest of the five sons of John Rokeby (died 1506). His younger brother Sir Richard Rokeby (died 1523) was Comptroller of the Household to Cardinal Wolsey and later Treasurer of Ireland. William retained a deep affection