Luis Ricardo Falero

Sale: Sotheby's, London, October 18, 1978, lot 138, illustrated
Private Collection (acquired in 1981)
Thence by descent

Famous Pictures by Renowned Artists, 1917, Chicago, p. 44, illustrated p. 41

Lined, a few areas of finely patterned craquelure; under UV: possible strokes of older generations of retouch, a few scattered pindots of inpainting visible, two inch vertical line of possible retouch fluoresces in lower right corner.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Luis Falero trained in Paris as a portraitist and developed a fascination for painting highly detailed renderings of the female nude. His hyper-realist style often set women in fantastical or mythological settings.

In The Planet Venus Falero presents both the actual planet in its crescent phase, as well as a physical representation of the goddess of love and beauty. Here the voluptuous maiden "Venus" floats before her luminous planet, her long golden tresses cascading down her back. She gently presses her left breast, a gesture drawing attention to her feminine form and implying her sexual fertility. Four putti hover beside her, seemingly tumbling down the smooth edge of the pearlescent planet, into the folds of the pale aubergine cloth swirling about them. This fabric perhaps evokes the beautiful swirl of clouds that famously surrounds the planet Venus.

Venus is the only planet named for a female and one of the five planets visible to the naked eye (Mercury, Mars, Saturn and Jupiter are the other four). After the moon, it is the brightest natural object in the night sky. As it moves around its orbit, Venus displays phases like those of the Moon: Falero shows Venus in a "thin crescent" as it comes around to the near side between the Earth and the Sun.