The Birth Of Venus

Product Information

Botticelli's art was never fully committed to naturalism; in comparison to his contemporary Caravaggio, Botticelli seldom gave weight and volume to his There was a marked difference in the way artists started painting too, gradually moving away from the flatter, two-dimensional, idealized, and iconographic Byzantine styles. Artists like Cenna di Peppi (Cimabue) and Giotto di Bondone started portraying more naturalistic subject matter. Venus is depicted as the embodiment of beauty; her skin is smooth and milky in color without any blemish. Her hair is also golden and hangs almost the full length of her body. This hairstyle is also reported to have been inspired by women’s hairstyles of the time Botticelli lived. Not only was The Birth of Venus by Botticelli a magnificent canvas showcasing a mythological scene and fit for a country villa, but it also showcased the first figure of a nude female in full size. This has not been done since the times of antiquity. We know by the painting’s title it was Venus, but who exactly was Venus? Behind the interpretation of the painting as a tribute to classic literature, we can certainly read an ode to the wealthy Florentine family who commissioned the work: the beginning of the reign of love finally comes to Florence thanks to the Medici, their diplomatic skills and their vast culture.

The composition, with a central nude figure, and one to the side with an arm raised above the head of the first, and winged beings in attendance, would have reminded its Renaissance viewers of the traditional iconography of the Baptism of Christ, marking the start of his ministry on earth. In a similar way, the scene shows here marks the start of Venus's ministry of love, whether in a simple sense, or the expanded meaning of Renaissance Neoplatonism. [30] The way she meekly covers herself, ironically, draws attention to the areas she is covering. The word pudica originates from the Latin pudenda, which relates to external genitalia or the concept of shame or feeling shameful, all of which are reflected in the countenance of the bashful Venus depicted above. A detail of the Hora holding out a cloak for Venus from Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus, c. 1485; Sandro Botticelli, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons The Birth of Venus painting by Alessandro Botticelli is one of the most famous mythological paintings from the Early Renaissance period. Although Sandro Botticelli was not as popular as other artists from the Renaissance, such as Leonardo da Vinci or Michelangelo, he still contributed one of the most beautiful and sensory-enriching paintings of the goddess Venus.

Need Help?

A self-portrait of Sandro Botticelli in his painting Adoration of the Magi (c. 1475); Sandro Botticelli, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons The Birth of Venus: A Novel is a 2003 novel by Sarah Dunant, a bestselling British author. The story is set in the late 15th century in Florence, Italy. It was first published by Little, Brown in 2003 [1] with the title The Birth of Venus: love and death in Florence. aroused humans to physical love or she was a heavenly goddess who inspired intellectual love in them. Plato further argued that contemplation of physical beauty allowed the mind to better understand spiritual beauty. So, looking at Venus, the most beautiful of goddesses, might at first raise a physical response in viewers which then lifted their minds towards the godly. [29] A Neoplatonic reading of Botticelli's Birth of Venus suggests that 15th-century viewers would have looked at the painting and felt their minds lifted to the realm of divine love. Different spheres of knowledge were explored and studied, including concepts like Neo-Platonism, which were based on the philosophical writings of the Greek philosopher, Plato.

From the many mythological poems from poets like Ovid, Homer, Hesiod, and Poliziano, to name a few, Venus was the Roman Goddess of love, beauty, prosperity, sex, and many other attributes related to love. Her name is in Latin, meaning “love”. Aphrodite was her name in Greek mythology and where the Romans derived their goddess of love. Lilian Zirpolo, "Botticelli's Primavera: a Lesson for the Bride," Woman's Art Journal, 12/2 1991; Jane C. Long, "Botticelli's Birth of Venus as Wedding Painting," Aurora, 9 (2008) 1–26.

Become a Member

British author Dunant ( Mapping the Edge, 2001, etc.) weaves everyone’s favorite art history moments into a vivid tapestry of life on the Arno during the upheaval of the Renaissance. LEFT: No. 23 of Scenes from the Life of Christ: 7. Baptism of Christ (1304-1306) by Giotto di Bondone; Giotto, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons | RIGHT: Baptism of Christ (1448-1450) by Piero della Francesca; Piero della Francesca, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons In our increasingly visual culture, novelists are under pressure to show, rather than tell, their stories (historical fiction, a new direction for Dunant, being one exception). Even so, it is important that the reader has some sense of how things look, especially as the narrator is supposedly a visual person.

Therefore, The Birth of Venus was made for home display, possibly for the Villa di Castello, which belonged to Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de Medici in 1486. This is also where La Primavera (c. 1482 to 1483) was housed. It has long been suggested that Botticelli was commissioned to paint the work by the Medici family of Florence, perhaps by Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de' Medici (1463–1503) a major patron of Botticelli, under the influence of his cousin Lorenzo de' Medici, "il Magnifico". This was first suggested by Herbert Horne in his monograph of 1908, the first major modern work on Botticelli, and long followed by most writers, but more recently has been widely doubted, though it is still accepted by some. Various interpretations of the painting rely on this origin for its meaning. Although relations were perhaps always rather tense between the Magnifico and his young cousins and wards, Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco and his brother Giovanni di Pierfrancesco de' Medici, it may have been politic to commission a work that glorified the older Lorenzo, as some interpretations have it. There may be a deliberate ambiguity as to which Lorenzo was intended to be evoked. In later years hostility between the two branches of the family became overt. The Humanist movement allowed a more open way of perceiving the world and the subject matter was more “pagan” compared to the traditional religious subject matter. This type of secularity was deemed acceptable.Looking at the composition of The Birth of Venus painting, we notice the nude figure of Venus in the central position. She stands on a large scallop shell covering her breasts with her right hand and her left hand and long hair cover her genitals. For Plato – and so for the members of the Florentine Platonic Academy – Venus had two aspects: she was an earthly goddess who The artist did not achieve public acclaim until four centuries after his death. It is no surprise that more popular High Renaissance painters such as Michelangelo, who was working In the case of Botticelli's Birth of Venus, the suggested references to Lorenzo, supported by other internal indicators such as the stand of laurel bushes at the right, would have been just the sort of thing erudite Florentine humanists would have appreciated. Accordingly, by overt implication, Lorenzo becomes the new Alexander the Great with an implied link to both Augustus, the first Roman emperor, and even to Florence's legendary founder, Caesar himself. Lorenzo, furthermore, is not only magnificent but, as was Alexander in Pliny's story, also magnanimous, as well. Ultimately, these readings of the Birth of Venus flatter not only the Medici and Botticelli but all of Florence, home to the worthy successors to some of the greatest figures of antiquity, both in governance and in the arts. [46]