The Birth Of Venus By Botticelli

H. Bertens describes female stereotypes to come under four labels “an immoral and dangerous seductress, the woman as the eternally dissatisfied shrew, the woman as cute but essentially helpless, the woman as unworldly, self-sacrificing angel and so on.” These labels were commonly found in both androtexts and gynotexts as feminist criticism’s attention drew towards female writers by giving them more prominence and esteem, yet they were found to both reject the traditional female form and “succumbed to the lure of stereotypical representations.” Christina Rossetti was one who was found to come under such scrutiny with her poems ‘Maude Clare’, ‘No, Thank You John’, and ‘In an Artist’s Studio’ to convey differing constructions of women.

On the left side of the painting, Venus is resting her arm on a red cushion, watching her lover sleep. She appears very composed and in control of her body; in contrast to Mars who seems lost in a different world and in a very relaxed pose. She is fully clothed, whereas Mars in naked and only partially covered by a small white cloth. Botticelli portrays Venus as a beautiful, young woman in contemporary clothing. Her dress consists of multiple layers of thin, white fabric which appears sheer in places e.g. her legs. The way in which the bodice draws attention to and accentuates her curves, emphasizes her physical and sexual desirability (Rubin, 2000). Her braids are arranged in a complex hairstyle and are clasped together

From the title of this art piece, it tells us that this woman is posing as Jesus Christ; she is spreading her arm out like Jesus depicted in the iconic painting by Leonardo Da Vinci. Instead of Jesus being a man, Cox used herself, a woman, to represent Jesus. The fact that the Bible is based upon Jesus and his twelve disciples, which all are male, tells us that there is a patriarchal and sexist sense embedded within the

The two works of art that I have chosen is the painting The Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli and the poem Stanze per la Giostra by Angelo Poliziano. The Birth of Venus was created between 1484 and 1486 by Sandro Botticelli. It was created in the early Renaissance period and is currently located in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy. Stanze per la Giostra was written between 1475 and 1478 by the Renaissance poet Angelo Poliziano. Its current location is the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, although it is currently not on display. The Birth of Venus and Stanze per la Giostra share many similarities as Stanze per la Giostra was Botticelli’s inspiration for creating The Birth of Venus. In The Birth of Venus, Botticelli has transformed Poliziano’s words into a beautiful work of art. These works of art share the theme of beauty. While Angelo Poliziano describes the beauty of the goddess Venus in his prose, Botticelli has captured her beauty with his delicate brush strokes. I will be comparing the theme of beauty between The Birth of Venus and Stanze per la Giostra as well as connecting it to contemporary standards of beauty.

Throughout this book Sobel develops many themes including, Galileo’s relationships with his daughter, other family members, and the people of influence in the 17th century.

Over the years, many art historians have argued over the true intentions of Titian’s Venus of Urbino. Unlike some of Titian’s other paintings, Venus of Urbino does not have

The Venus of Willendorf was believed to be created 25,000 years ago, is none-freestanding sculpture and is sculpted out of oolitic limestone. The subject matter I believe it to convey a fertility figure for men and woman to gaze upon. The Venus of Willendorf is a none-freestanding female nude stature, which is an 11 centimeters high, made out of oolitic limestone and now resides in Naturhistorisches Museum. She was found in 1908 in Austria in a village called Willendorf. This small oolitic limestone figure representing a woman in the nude is believed to be created 25,000 years ago. The stature has been carved out of oolitic limestone and has been given a red ochre tint. I believe that Venus of Willendorf was created to represent fertility in

The most prominent key that supports this idea is that she has a smirk on her face that is reminiscent of archaic smile that is seen in works such as the Peplos Kore (Figure 3) in the archaic period (Kleiner 112). This hint of a smile not only draws the viewer in, but displays that she is aware of a viewer watching her in a private setting, since she is nude, which then led to the fact that she instinctively covers her genital area in a way that creates a more sensual experience for the viewer (Kleiner 143). Another notable feature is the usage of contrapposto, the figures weight is seemingly shifted to her right leg, allowing for her left knee to gently bend, adding to the display of realistic pose of her body. She is also posed in such a way that has been given a name known as the modest Venus, which involves a nude female discreetly covering her private areas with one hand (Lapatin). The sculptor, Praxiteles, paid close attention to the composition and rendering of the goddesses’ form which was left to be a mesmerizing display, muse, and inspiration for generations to come.

Throughout history, people have used paintings and art as a tool to express their religious beliefs and values. Illustrations depicting the Virgin Mary and child, often referred to as Madonna and Child, are one of the most recurring images in Christian and European Art through the ages. Though these paintings and sculptures may have similarities in their iconography and style each work of art varies based on the different artists’ and time periods. Two paintings that portray these features currently reside in the Museum of Fine Arts Houston. The first, Virgin and Child by Rogier van der Wyden, was originally painted after 1454. In the painting, the Virgin Mary is holding Christ against her shoulder as he twists around to face toward the viewers. The second painting is Virgin and Child with a Donor, painted by Antoniazzo Romano and originally painted c. 1480. In this painting, Virgin Mary is supporting Christ who seems to be standing and includes a figure of a man with his hands crossed in prayer. While both paintings depict the mother and child, there are both similarities and differences in style and portrayal. In this paper, I will thoroughly examine these traits, as well as address the similarities and differences associated with the two paintings. This analysis will be done by using information gained from reading Gardner’s Art Through the Ages, in class lectures from ARTH 1381 Art and Society Renaissance to Modern and ARTH 1300 Ways of Seeing Art, and close visual

A. Identification There are many different types of Roman pieces in the Roman time period. One of the pieces is known as the Torso of Venus. On the label of this piece it states that it is a copy of work by Praxiteles from the Roman 1st or 2nd century AD and is made of marble. This piece of art relates to the Late Classical Period that we studied in class.

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.

This period housed many depictions of the Virgin Mary, including Cimabue’s Enthroned Madonna and Child. Mary was seen as the perfect example of feminine virtue, showing chastity, piety, humility, and maternity. Images of the Madonna, or Mary, whether sculpture or painting, encouraged women to live up to her. Mary wasn’t the only woman that was looked up to in Renaissance art. Women could be portrayed as witches, saints, temptresses, or members of the working class, and their image would still be an encouragement to dress and behave properly. (Jacobs)

The Neo-Platonist philosophy to the Medici family, and humanist meant that all sources of inspiration or exposure; whether from the bible or even a classical mythology were means of arising from earthly existence to mystical unification with the divine (Frank, 2014). However, with Sandro Botticelli’s Birth of Venus is also a reflection of inspiration as well as exposure (Frank, 2014). Artist Sandro Botticelli canvas of the Birth of Venus is a reflection of the Neo-Platonist Philosophy it displays exposure; she is blown to shore by a couple symbolizing the wind. Further a woman in an earthly existence to represent the spring, also mystical (Frank,

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 Bible, the bestselling book of all time, has made an impact on our society like nothing else. Many of our ideas and thoughts are either directly or indirectly based on ideas from the Bible but while the Bible’s influence is prominent in society, has it always been for the best? Our views on women are one of the many things that have been affected due to the Bible, a lot of times negatively. Women throughout the Bible have been described as either being lesser than men or as the source of evil in this world. The most obvious instance of this being shown is through the figure of Eve. More times than not, Eve is blamed for the banishment of mankind from the garden of Eden as she gave a fruit from the tree of knowledge to Adam and they both consumed it. Due to this, many people see her as being the ‘devil in disguise’ and often, many artists choose to depict like that. While many artists choose to depict Eve as evil, some choose to depict Eve in another way. Michelangelo and Raffaello Sanzio, known also as Raphael, were two of these types of artists who challenged the existing ideas of Eve through their art. Both artists were heavily influenced by Leonardo da Vinci, called the “treatise of psychology”, who may have taught them to pay close attention the effect the emotions and actions had on the people in their art, which can be seen throughout the following paintings. Through Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam and Fall and Expulsion from the garden of Eden on the ceiling of