The Toilet of Venus ('The Rokeby Venus')

Venus, the goddess of love, reclines languidly on her bed, the curve of her body echoed in the sweep of sumptuous satin fabric. The pearly tones of her smooth skin contrast with the rich colours and lively brushstrokes of the curtain and sheets.

Venus' face is reflected in the mirror held up by her son, Cupid, but her reflection is blurred - we can't see who she really is. Perhaps Velázquez wanted to make sure that Venus - the personification of female beauty - was not an identifiable person; we have to 'complete' her features with our imagination. Cupid's face and far leg are very loosely painted and appear almost unfinished: Velázquez deliberately used a sketchy style in order to focus our attention on Venus.

This is Velázquez's only surviving female nude and one of his most celebrated works. Its nickname, 'The Rokeby Venus', originates from Rokeby Park, a country house in County Durham, where the painting hung for much of the nineteenth century.

Credit: Presented by the Art Fund, 1906