1. Mars Disarmed by Venus and the Three Graces
Visual Literacy by
Eva Arce

2. Mars Disarmed by Venus and the Three Graces by Jacques-Louis David
Oil on Canvas ( )
Musées Royaux des Beaux Arts, Brussels

4. Simplistic Reading Everybody is naked.
The doves are strategically placed.
The main idea is Make Love not War.

5. Mature Reading of a Complex Text
Requires time and thought
Requires analysis
Is enhanced by context information

6. Context
David lived through the French Revolution (French King Louis XVI among others were beheaded. France was in chaos. Napoleon used the military to become Emperor of France.) He was well aware of the devastation of wars.
David had been the official portrait of Napoleon, depicting the emperor as a conqueror.
He began this painting in 1822 when he was 73, living in self-imposed exile in Brussles. 
In 1823, he wrote: "This is the last picture I want to paint, but I want to surpass myself in it. I will put the date of my seventy-five years on it and afterwards I will never again pick up my brush.”
When the painting was complete, David sent it to Paris, where his former students flocked to view it.

8. Thematic Conclusion
Societies and their leaders must learn to negotiate with others in order to establish a peaceful environment.