Mars, Janus, and Minerva

Mars (Ares), Janus, and Minerva (Athena)
Statuette by Giovanni Battista Foggini, 1710-15. Museum of Arts and Crafts 1961.207, Hamburg.

• The dual-faced Janus directs his youthful gaze forward toward Mars, god of war, while his older face gazes into the distance, unmindful of Minerva, the deity of wisdom and the arts.
• Marked by the sun emblem on Mars' shield—a distinct nod to King Louis XIV—the ensemble functions as a political anti-French allegory contextually rooted in the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714).

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