1. The Birth of Venus is one of the most famous and important
artworks by Sandro Botticelli. This paintings believed to be done
during the Renaissance Venus, The Goddess of love, here is
presented to the audience at the very exact moment of her birth,
portrayed gracefully and awkwardly hiding her nakedness. Instead of
Venus being presented as an infant, Botticelli decided to give us a
full grown beautiful version of her. At the time women were never
seen naked in a Renaissance painting. The only time the naked
female form was presented was in paintings of Eve. Venus in this
case is the first female nudes that is non-biblical. Therefore, in
a sense, this painting really marks the beginning of humankind
entering the modern era.
2. The theme of the Birth of Venus was taken from the writings
of the ancient poet, Homer. According to the traditional account,
after Venus was born, she rode on a seashell and sea foam to the
island of Cythera. In the painting we see here, Venus is
prominently depicted in the centre, born out of the foam as she
rides to shore.(Italian Renaissance.org, 2012)
3. What does Venus Symbolize ?
4. Zephyrus, The God of The West Winds appears on the right
side of Venus, holding Aura, the spring wind, and together they are
blowing Venus to the shore. Zephyrus is shown here as quite
powerful, as he's effortlessly carrying Aura. You can see the
gentleness in Auras face as she's blowing Venus to the shore. The
flowers are also there to represent Auras gentleness and
beauty.
5. On Venus's left side we see a barefooted woman waiting for
her with a pink patterned cloak with flowers to cover her naked
body. She is known as the Goddesses of the seasons, most likely
known as spring. By analyzing her bodys position, we can see that
she's somewhat in a hurry to cover Venuss nakedness.
6. Where does Venus come from?
7. So, what did we learn from the video ? We learn that,
Botticelli's painting of Venus comes from the classical antiquity.
The text is actually based on Pliny the Elders account of a
legendary fresco of Venus, painted by Apelles. Appelles is Ancient
Greeks most celebrated painter. We also learn that, The Medicis
provided a second source of classical inspiration of their Roman
copy of Venus
8. THE END
9. References Diaz, R. (2012, November, 7).ArtSleuth 3:
BOTTICELLI: The Birth of Venus (final version) - Uffizi Gallery
[Video file]. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9ZIJOX0Jjo Italian
Renaissance.org. (2012). Analysis of the art of Renaissance,
Botticellis Birth of Venus. Retrieved from
http://www.italianrenaissance.org/botticelli- birth-of-venus/