Mars disrobing and Venus surrounded by nymphs and putti

This composition is known also from a second version once on the art market (Sotheby’s, New York, 21 January 1983, lot 102). Both drawings had been published as autograph works by Giuseppe Cades by Maria Teresa Caracciolo (op. cit., 1992, p. 259). More recent research, however, has brought to light the work of many imitators, perhaps pupils working with Cades, who might have been the authors of these drawings. As Caracciolo has pointed out, many new drawings, resurfacing from private collections, have shown how Cades was not an isolated artist, but surrounded by many collaborators who attempted to imitate his style. These personalities have still to be clearly identified.