Sandro Botticelli, Birth of Venus.
The Birth of Venus painted by Sandro Botticelli from 1484-1486, depicts the birth of Venus into the world. The painting shows Venus the goddess of love and beauty coming out of the sea as if she was coming into the human world as a beautiful woman. She is nude in the painting covering one of her breasts with her right hand, her left hand holding her long blonde hair, which covers her pubic region. The nudity of Venus in this painting shows not the humility of the naked body but the exotericism of the female body. There are three other figures in the painting, two intertwined figures on the left side and a woman on the right standing on the shoreline. The woman on the shoreline is someone who is
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Botticelli was very interested in literacy and love poems. The birth of Venus shows that Botticelli used love poems to draw his subject matter; he shows this in his lack of perspective throughout the painting giving us a feeling that we are in a poem or an unreal world. The colors that are used are slightly desaturated giving the painting a very soft feel of love and birth. The figures in the painting are not perfect they have irregularities much like how figures can be in a poem; the literacy of love poem only focus’ on certain parts of the body not giving a real perspective on the scene.
This whole painting does not give you a reality of the scene. The figures in the painting are very unreal in how they stand and how they fill the space of the painting. Venus stands in a classical contrapposto stance but her weight is shifted very far to the left making the stance impossible in real life. The painting shows how Botticelli’s style does not focus on reality or showing the correct perspective of the how the scene would look like in real life. This painting shows that Botticelli is not interested in showing the classical composition of the figure. Botticelli does an amazing job of creating a beautiful scene that draws your attention away from the parts that do not really work. Venus has very elongated neck, her shoulders fall very steeply and her left arm comes off her shoulder quite oddly
Peter Paul Rubens’ masterpiece, Venus and Adonis, is not only a significant artwork of the baroque-period in Europe during the seventeenth century, but it also tells the mythological story that begins with love, and ends in tragedy. Displayed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, this painting is admired for representing the unique baroque-style of this era, as well as Rubens’ particular use of the medium and how it reaches those who are viewing it. His attention to detail and crafty use of symbolism within the painting assist viewers in deciphering the story, along with the values of the period in which Rubens was living. In studying the composition of the work and noting the historical context from which it came, one can ultimately
When seeing this painting in person we see all the lines and colors really pop out as opposed to seeing it in a text book. You see that the images are much clearer in person giving us sharper appearances of the subject matters. With Manfredi being a member of the Caravaggisti, and therefore; we see Caravaggio like methods in the painting; such as the darken background, and the one source lighting. With the background being very dark not only does it allow you to focus more on the subject matter of the piece but it allows for the gloomy emotional aspect of it to be displayed. With the one source lighting in this painting it permits for Cupid’s skin to look like actual perfect flesh. The lighting allows Manfredi to show off his skills on how well can he imitate the human flesh by having the layers of red, giving the painting life, and the layers of blue, giving the paint translucently. The lighted areas that is caused by the once source of light focuses on the main parts of the composition; the flying doves, the Mars’ arm holding Cupid’s wrist, Cupid, and the Venus’ shoulder and arm. Like most of Caravaggio’s paintings, the one source lighting helps Manfredi to displays Leonardo’s Golden triangle method. Just like Caravaggio’s paintings, Manfredi uses the Golden triangle method so that the viewer’s eye is always being
Titian’s, Venus of Urbino, painted in 1538 is considered as one of the most famous female nude painting in the history of art.
The main focus of the painting intended by Titian is a nude woman, Venus, looking straightforwardly at the audience. The young woman’s nipples are erect; with her left hand covers her pubic area, the sexuality of this painting is unquestionable. She is completely naked except for the ring on her little finger and the bracelet around her wrist. It is clear that the intention of this painting is to evoke sensual feelings in its audience.
In 1538, the Venus of Urbino was commissioned by the Duke of Urbino Guidobaldo II Della Rovere, to his bride as a wedding gift. Titian referenced his teacher’s work, which is Giorgione’s Sleeping Venus , It described Venus sleeping on the ground, in nature, nude. Her gesture is almost same as Titian’s Venus of Urbino, distinguished by the position of her right arm. Titian used the “Velatura” as known as “glazing” technique, which is a technique of applying multiple layers of transparent thin paint to create the final piece, the charm of this technique is the painting is as smooth as glass and the
The Venus of Willendorf was found in 1908 by a workman named “Johann Veran” (Selen). It was found by archeologists at a Paleolithic site. Here at the Naturhistorisches Museum in Vienna, Austria, we have the only authentic Venus Figurine (Naturhistorisches Museum Wien). The artifact’s purpose is still being speculated by many. But from what I can infer, the figurine was used a a maternal figure, and it shows the richness of female fertility.
The visual work I have chosen is the Bith of Venus and is one of the world’s most famous works of art. Painted by Sandro Botticelli between 1482 and 1485, it is the first example of painting on canvas. The written work I have chosen is the Stanze per la Giostra. It was written by Angelo Poliziano, written between 1475-8. Both works are examples from the Italian Renaissance era, during the Medici rule, and share the theme of beauty and humanism. The works I've selected share the same subject matter, Venus, and is the perfect example of beauty and humanism. She is the epitome of beauty and her birth from the sea is an example of her metamorphosis of humanism. For this paper, I will compare both works then discuss how the shared theme is seen in contemporary works. How does Venus and her beautiful metamorphosis fit into contemporary forms of beauty and humanism?
The Venus of Willendorf figurines, or also know as “Woman of Willendorf”, were originally founded at a paleolithic site near Willendorf. Willendorf is a “village in lower Austria near the city of Krems.”(Mugadona). The sculptor put an emphasis on the female body parts when creating these figurines. Specifically parts that associate with being pregnant and bearing a child. With these distinguished markings it is believed to represent a fertility goddess. Many of the figures that were found are female. From this you can draw a conclusion that females were highly regarded in their culture, and that bearing a child was important. “Venus” is known as the goddess of love and beauty, since most of the statues are woman that could be a physical symbol
Venus of adonis was painted by Tiziano Vecellio and dates back to A.D 1400-1600. He was one of the greatest italian renaissance painter and he was recognized as a great painter early in his life. He was a master of the oil medium and a supreme colorist. Many of his paintings represent either religion, antiquity and/or beauty. In his painting of Venus and Adonis it was inspired by a tale called Ovid’s Metamorphoses and therefore was called poetry in paint, also known as poesie (The MET). The painting portrays the goddess Venus has fallen in love with Adonis. The goddess Venus is trying to hold back Adonis because she does not want him leaving, since he is a hunter. While the goddess Venus is trying to hold Adonis back, his dogs are
Venus of Urbino demonstrates a beautiful, young woman, Venus, lying nude on what appears to be a reclined couch or bed. However, the woman illustrated means much more than merely a nude woman. There have been many interpretations of this beautiful woman over the years but many art historians agree that the Venus of Urbino has to do unambiguously with the male sexual desire for the female nude body.
To the right of the painting is Nymph, also known as "The Hours", Greek goddesses of the seasons. She has on a very elegant dress and holds a robe out for Venus which is decorated with red and white daises, as well as yellow flowers of some sort, and blue cornflowers. These are all flowers of spring time which is appropriate for the theme of birth. The Nymph also wears garland which is also decorated with roses. The Nymph seems to be welcoming not only Venus, but the season of spring as well. This open arms welcome is very comforting to view.
La Primavera is set in a grove, with fruit trees and many types of flowers blooming on the ground. The figure in the center is that of an elongated woman, her head tilted to the viewer’s left and her right hand held up as if she is indicating something on that side. Her gaze comes out of the painting, as if to entreat the viewer to step into the scene. Her form divides the space into two sides. The greenery around her creates a circular shape. Given the subject matter of Botticelli’s other paintings in this collection and the other figures represented, the woman is interpreted to be Venus. At the top of this circle, the figure of a blindfolded male toddler with wings has notched an arrow from the quiver on his back and points it to the left of the painting. His position over Venus and possession of the bow designates him to be Eros, the son of Venus. Following the point of the arrow and the right arm of Venus, there are three dancing women, draped in wispy white with their fingers interlaced. These figures are the Three Graces, identifiable by the way they connect with each other and their dance – in mythology, the Graces
The Birth of Venus the audience sees the Goddess Venus the moment she is born from the sea
Also known by the titles "Venus, Cupid, Folly, and Time" and "A Triumph of Venus", this painting was on purpose designed as a complex, erotic allegory that includes an extent of iconographic symbols from the ancient world of mythology. It was a present from Cosimo de Medici to King Francis I of France. Being rich and vivid in symbolism relating to the constituting ideas of the High Renaissance, the painting gives Bronzino the opportunity to establish his maestro figure painting and portrait art. Through personification of qualities and varying contrast and brightness, Bronzino is able to justify that personal gains outweigh anything and everything that is moral.
The Birth of Venus (Nascita di Venere) is a painting done by Florentine artist Sandro Botticelli in 1486. The painting depicts the moment the goddess Venus first emerges from the waters of the sea and prepares to step onto the shore. Through linear techinques and artistic symbolism, the painting not only depicts the story and narrative of the goddess Venus’s birth but also seeks to exhibit the many different types of love and adoration which surround the creation of life.