Rokeby Venus 1997, the art historian Peter Cherry suggested that Velázquez sought to overcome the contemporary requirement for modesty by portraying Venus from the back. Even in the mid-18th century, an English artist who made a drawing of the Venus when it was in the collection of the Dukes of Alba noted it was "not hung up, owing to the subject". Another attitude to the issue was shown by Morritt, who wrote to Sir Walter Scott of his "fine painting of Venus' backside", which he hung above his main fireplace, so that "the ladies may avert their downcast eyes without difficulty and
Rokeby (Leesburg, Virginia) Rokeby (Leesburg, Virginia) Rokeby is a Georgian house near Leesburg, Virginia, built in the mid-18th century. The house is the best example of Georgian architecture in Loudoun County. Rokeby served as a repository for U.S. Government documents during the British occupation and burning of Washington in 1814 during the War of 1812. The Declaration of Independence was reputedly kept in the basement. The main house is a two-story five-bay brick building standing on a low basement, with prominent end chimneys. The plan is two rooms deep with a central stair hall. A rear wing was added in 1886, using detailing