They were probably commissioned by Nicola Maffei (c.1487-1536) and the early fame of Venus with Mercury and Cupid is attested by a copy made by Girolamo Mazzola Bedoli.

[3] At the sale of Charles' goods it was valued at £800 and sold on 23 October 1651 to Thomas Bagley, a glazier in the royal household.

De Godoy was arrested six years later, and the painting was confiscated along with the rest of his goods by Joachim Murat, who took it to Naples.

After Murat's defeat and execution during the Hundred Days in 1815, his widow Caroline fled to Vienna, taking the painting with her.

At least four early copies of the painting are known: At least two versions, those at Sibiu and Chenonceau, are still exhibited as authentic works by Correggio.