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. The painting was a commissioned work for the Medici Family of Florence, a powerful political and financial family which would later go on to become an influential royal house for centuries. Throughout the painting, there is evidence of movement and a prevailing sense you …show more content…
This suggests that she is alive and moving with life and purpose.
Her naked form is a very rare element in the picture. During this time period, nudity was strictly reserved to convey the idea of pure innocense or virginal qualities. Yet, Botticelli uses the nudity to symbolize innocence and the untouched skin. Her form is soft and womanly and the seashell that she rides on also reflects the thought that she is unblemished and untouched, much like a pearl. Her hair is speckled with fine gold and is flowing naturally. It also serves to naturally cover her naked body and suggest an innocent and almost Eve like quality. This also is a deliberate attempt at recreating art from earlier Greek works which embraced the natural beauty of the body, especially amongst the gods and goddesses of ancient Greece.
The fixation is set on her in the center of the painting due to the triangle of light used to create a focal point for the viewer. Surrounding her on both sides are the linear equivelants of past and future. From the left we see her creators helping her along with strength and the force of the wind. To the right we see her handmaiden ready to usher her into the world, where she will be clothed and no longer represent innocence. Both exhibit two very different forms of love and caring to Venus. The two male and female figures linked and joined represent the wind gods from
It is a famous example of Renaissance art showing portraiture, realism, and some perspective. In this painting there are four distinct characters. Each has a different expression that shows how they are feeling. There is also more detail in the faces then in any other parts of the painting. Another technique it demonstrates is heightened realism. Whereas before the Renaissance the figures may have been painted simply and in only enough detail to get the general idea across, these figures are shown more realistically. Lastly there is the technique of perspective as shown in the background of the painting. The sea stretches out into the sky and the land in the background is shown how it would look if the viewer was actually
The Venus of Willendorf is a sculpture that was sculpted out of limestone and stands to be 4 ½’’ tall. The figurine was most likely carved out of limestone because early pre-historic artists generally had to create art out of whatever materials they had available. The figurine is only 4 ½” tall is because it was common for pre-historic artists to carve small, hand held, portable figurines. The sculpture was found on the banks of the Danube River, an area where pre-historic hunter-gatherers were thought to have lived and traded goods with other civilians. The use of this piece of artwork is to portray the importance of women and fertility in pre-historic times because these features are ones that ensured the survival and future of mankind.
Kousser, Rachel. "Creating the past: The Venus de Milo and the Hellenistic reception of classical Greece." American journal of archaeology (2005): 227-250.
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
It portrayed the woman as being the care giver of life, and it showed her as something everyone looked up to, either for riturals or as a figurine of fertility. She may have been the Goddess of life; a status similar to “Mother Earth.”. However, I believe that the purpose of ti was to show woman what their capabilities were, and it seemed to focus on the strengths that they possessed and what their functions in society were. In this case, the large breasts, stomach, and hips (Selen). It potentially was used to symbolize new life, or maybe even a new beginning. Now if you focus on this statuette you will notice that it’s roughly only about 4 inches long. The statuette is named the “Venus of Willendorf” after Willendorf, Austria, where she was found, and the name “Venus” was named after the ancient Roman Goddess of Love
The love of marriage is shown in the small myrtle flower lying beside Venus, the flower petals and shell above her head are both said to be in connection to marriage. What's also very important to the painting is the way the bodies are positioned and what they are doing. Venus lying down placing her hand amongst her chest, this further resembles the institution of marriage in partnership and brings forth desire. Cupid on the other hand, which I was curious about, is peeing in Venus’s direction, through an ivy plant which is mentioned to represent fertility. On the Museums website this act along with the veil, crown, and pearl earrings, represent fertility referenced by “Italian Venetians”. What I found most interesting about this painting is the tiny snake near Venus. Why is it there? Especially in a painting that resembles marriage. The museum website mentions that this snake reveals the “darker aspect” of marriage. That is, “illicit”, not approved of. I also wondered about the rod that lies near Venus, and the website does say that it is most likely used to discipline Cupid. Nevertheless, the meaning of the painting is marriage as a happy institution, the museum also mentions that the message of “epithalamia” is conveyed as necessary, and that marriage is something everyone must do, and experience, and that this is in our nature to do so. Which explains the very natural
Venus is a term that has long been associated with artwork, most specifically the classical forms of beautiful women. The term Venus has also come to represent female sculptures of the Paleolithic era. The most notable of these female sculptures is the Venus of Willendorf, 24,000-22,000 BCE. The age of the figurine has been changed several times. Originally when found the date was estimated to be 15,000 to 10,000 BCE. During the 1970's the time period was adjusted to 25,000 to 20,000 BCE; the date was again recalculated in the 1980's to 30,000 to 25,000 BCE;
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
Tiziano Vecellio, also documented, as Titian was an Italian painter. He was born sometime around 1470-1480, his exact date of birth is unclear and he died of a fever during the plague around 1576. Titian was one of the furthermost adaptable Italian painters during the High Renaissance. Titian was equally proficient with portraits, landscape backgrounds and mythological and religious subjects. Consequently, Titian was one of the furthermost important members of the sixteenth century Venetian school and he is still an overwhelming influence on the art world. Often times, Titian is described as the first artist to have an international career. Titian’s painting career was prosperous from the start but over the course of this prolonged life, his style changed drastically and he retained a permanent interest in color, which is well defined in his painting Venus of Urbino.
Concerning color, there is a stark contrast between the figure on the painting and the background. More specifically, the figure of the woman is predominantly delineated in white color, especially pale, ashen white, as far her apparel and facial complexion are concerned, while there are also various hues of grey, with respect to her hair and accessory feather. These white and grey shades are vividly contrasted with the prevailing red and crimson hues of the background (viz. the drape, armchair, and table). Moreover, one can detect colors of dark green (jewelry), some beige on the left (pillar), and darker or lighter shades of blue on the right side of the canvas (sky), which all in concert and in addition to the subtle purple hue forming the sun or moon exude a certain dramatic sentiment. Also, there is brown, which often easily segues into gold (viz. books and attire details respectively). The main contrast of colors between white and red would be interpreted as serving the purpose of rendering the figure of the woman, and especially her face, the focal point of the work, despite, paradoxically enough, the lush red shades at the background. Bearing that in mind, the significance of the woman’s face will be enlarged upon later, when discussing aspects of her identity.
Florence, Italy. He left Florence in 1480 to help decorate the Sistine Chapel in Rome with some of his art which only the most famous painters of that time were invited to do. In 1482, Botticelli returned to Florence and shortly
Venus in Botticelli's painting is a Renaissance beauty. During the Renaissance women were believed to look more attractive if they had some weight to them. It
The portrait is displayed horizontally with a gold trimmed frame. The subject is a female that looks to be in her early 20’s sitting upright on a large brown chair. If the viewer travels up the painting the first indication of the woman’s class is her satin, blue dress. The saturated blue shines and falls in the light like water. Paired with the dress are her exceptionally detailed endings to her sleeves. The lace is even painted as though it is translucent, allowing a little of the blue dress to show through the sleeve. Flowers throughout history have symbolized innocence of a woman and her virginity. The repeating theme of flowers, in the sleeve cuffs and ribbon) in the woman’s attired suggests her purity or innocent nature. Another very details section of the painting includes the corset/torso details. The sewing suggests texture in the torso with small beading in between. Towards the top of the chest in the center, the female seems to bear an extravagant, ribbon piece with a tear drop bead in the center. The light pink
nude goddess and depicted the same image in his painting The Birth of Venus (1482). This