Venus was born from the foam of the sea after her father, Uranus, was overthrown and castrated by his son Saturn. Uranus was amongst the primal gods in Greco-Roman mythology; he was the god of the sky. Saturn threw Uranus’s genitals into the sea, which mixed with the sea foam, thus giving birth to Venus.
What does the birth of Venus mean?
The Birth of Venus. The Birth of Venus ( Italian: Nascita di Venere [ˈnaʃʃita di ˈvɛːnere]) is a painting by the Italian artist Sandro Botticelli probably made in the mid 1480s. It depicts the goddess Venus arriving at the shore after her birth, when she had emerged from the sea fully-grown...
Why did Botticelli paint the birth of Venus?
Botticelli made his name with his painting Allegory of Fortitude (1470), and he was subsequently commissioned to paint Birth of Venus for Lorenzo the Magnificent of the Medici family. In mythology, Venus was conceived when the Titan Cronus castrated his father, the god Uranus, whose severed genitals fertilized the sea.
When was the birth of Venus painted?
The Birth of Venus (Italian: Nascita di Venere [ˈnaʃʃita di ˈvɛːnere]) is a painting by the Italian artist Sandro Botticelli, probably made in the mid 1480s.
What is the face of Venus in the birth of Venus?
Detail: the face of Venus. The Birth of Venus ( Italian: Nascita di Venere [ˈnaʃʃita di ˈvɛːnere]) is a painting by the Italian artist Sandro Botticelli, probably made in the mid 1480s. It depicts the goddess Venus arriving at the shore after her birth, when she had emerged from the sea fully-grown ...
What is the meaning behind The Birth of Venus?
goddess of love and beautyKnown as the “Birth of Venus”, the composition actually shows the goddess of love and beauty arriving on land, on the island of Cyprus, born of the sea spray and blown there by the winds, Zephyr and, perhaps, Aura. The goddess is standing on a giant scallop shell, as pure and as perfect as a pearl.
What myth is The Birth of Venus based on?
The story goes that the God Uranus had a son named Cronus who overthrew his father, castrating him and throwing his genitals into the sea. This caused the water to be fertilised, and Venus was born. After her birth she came ashore on a shell, pushed along by the breath of Zephyrus, the god of the west wind.
What inspired The Birth of Venus poem?
Stanze per la GiostraInspired by classical tradition, Botticelli's contemporary Angelo Poliziano described this scene in his epic poem "Stanze per la Giostra", thereby providing what was probably the most important source of inspiration for the painting.
Did Aphrodite really exist?
Aphrodite was, in fact, widely worshipped as a goddess of the sea and of seafaring; she was also honoured as a goddess of war, especially at Sparta, Thebes, Cyprus, and other places. However, she was known primarily as a goddess of love and fertility and even occasionally presided over marriage.
Are Venus and Aphrodite the same?
In Roman mythology, Venus was the goddess of love, sex, beauty, and fertility. She was the Roman counterpart to the Greek goddess Aphrodite. However, Roman Venus had many abilities beyond the Greek Aphrodite; she was a goddess of victory, fertility, and even prostitution.
Why is the birth of Venus a masterpiece?
The Birth of Venus' Cultural Significance The Birth of Venus is often regarded as one of the greatest accomplishments of Renaissance painting. The complementary colors, its large scale, and the idyllic scene it depicts, all harmonize to create this visually stunning masterpiece.
What poem is The Birth of Venus based on?
The basis of this painting is reputed to be part of a poem – Stanze per la giostra –by the Renaissance scholar Angelo Poliziano – a friend of Lorenzo (il Magnifico) di Medici and the professor who taught his children – he is shown below in the fresco by Ghirlandio in the Sassetti Chapel in Chiesa Santa Trinita with ...
Why is the birth of Venus important to the Renaissance?
With The Birth of Venus, Botticelli revived the mythological interests found in Classical antiquity. Specifically, he adopted Venus (or Aphrodite, her Greek equivalent)—a particularly popular figure in ancient art, including the Venus de Milo, a famous sculpture from the first century BC—as his subject.
What poem is The Birth of Venus based on?
The basis of this painting is reputed to be part of a poem – Stanze per la giostra –by the Renaissance scholar Angelo Poliziano – a friend of Lorenzo (il Magnifico) di Medici and the professor who taught his children – he is shown below in the fresco by Ghirlandio in the Sassetti Chapel in Chiesa Santa Trinita with ...
What is Aphrodite's birth story?
The parents fought and Gaia created a stone sickle, which she gave to Cronus to attack his father. Cronus castrated Uranus and threw his father's testicles into the sea. They caused the sea to foam and out of that white foam rose Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty.
What is Aphrodite's story?
Aphrodite is the Goddess of Love and Beauty and according to Hesiod's Theogony, she was born from the foam in the waters of Paphos, on the island of Cyprus. She supposedly arose from the foam when the Titan Cronus slew his father Uranus and threw his genitals into the sea.
What is Zeus story of birth?
When it came time to give birth to her sixth child, Rhea hid herself, then she left the child to be raised by nymphs. To concel her act she wrapped a stone in swaddling cloths and passed it off as the baby to Cronus, who swallowed it. This child was Zeus. He grew into a handsome youth on Crete.
Who Was Alessandro Botticelli?
Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi, or just Sandro, Botticelli was born in Florence in Borgo Ognissanti. He was born between 1444 and 1446 and...
Who Was Venus?
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 showcas...
Who Painted The Birth of Venus?
The Birth of Venus (c. 1484 to 1486) painting was made by Alessandro Botticelli, who was an artist from the Early Renaissance period in Italy. Alth...
When Was The Birth of Venus Painted?
The Birth of Venus was painted around 1484 to 1486. This was during the Early Renaissance period in Italy, a period that spanned the 1400s. It was...
Where Is The Birth of Venus?
Presently, The Birth of Venus (c. 1484 to 1486) painting is housed at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy. It is believed that the painting was r...
Where Was The Birth of Venus Painted?
It is believed that after Sandro Botticelli worked on frescoes for the Sistine Chapel in Rome in 1481, he returned to his city of birth, Florence,...
What was the birth of Venus?
The Birth of Venus painting was created during the 1400s, which was a period in European history that saw a lot of cultural and economic changes. Notable changes that took place during this time included the ending of feudalism, which changed the European economic and social landscape. This was a transitionary period from the Middle Ages ( Medieval period) and art styles progressed from Byzantine to Romanesque and then Gothic.
When was Venus born?
A detail of Venus from Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus, c. 1485; Sandro Botticelli, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
What is Venus' hair color?
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.
When did Botticelli paint Venus?
It was here that Botticelli was commissioned to paint The Birth of Venus, which was from 1484 to 1486.
How is Venus portrayed?
The figure of Venus is also portrayed with exaggerated anatomy, overall, her body is quite elongated. We see this elongation emphasized in her neck and in the depiction of her arms, mostly her left (our right) arm covering her genitalia with her hair.
How big is the painting of the Primavera?
The painting is large in scale, measuring 1.72 x 2.78 meters. It is also slightly smaller than Botticelli’s La Primavera (c. 1482 to 1483). If it was the case where this painting was made for the Medici family, it was made to adorn a wall space perfectly fit for private living space compared to public spaces.
What is the meaning of Botticelli's birth of Venus?
Some sources also describe the Christian interpretation for Botticelli’s Birth of Venus and that it is symbolic of and influenced by the Baptism of Christ. It is compared to two other Renaissance paintings to illustrate this idea, namely, Giotto’s The Baptism of Christ (c. 1305) and Piero Della Francesca’s painting of the same name (1448 to 1450).
What is the birth of Venus?
Like the Primavera, the Birth of Venus is also associated with the concept of Humanitas,or virtuous Humanity, a theory developed by Marsilio Ficino in a letter to the young Lorenzo. According to the interpretation by Ernst Gombrich, the work depicts the symbolic fusion of Spirit and Matter, the harmonious interaction of Idea and Nature. Nevertheless, the interpretations of this painting of extraordinary visual impact are numerous and diverse. The divine ethereal figure has been viewed as an allegorical representation of Humanitas upon her arrival to Florence, while the nymph holding out the cloak of flowers for the goddess may perhaps be identified as Flora, the same depicted in this masterpiece’s “twin”, the Primavera, where she may be seen instead as the personification of the city of Florence. From this work emerges clear evidence of Botticell’s strive to reach perfection of form that could rival with classical antiquity. It is for this reason that the humanist Ugolino Verino in his work Epigrammata, presented in 1485 to the King of Hungary, Matthias Corvinus, likened the Florentine painter to the legendary Apelles of Ancient Greece.
What is the birth of Venus painted on?
Like Botticelli’s other masterpiece, Pallas and the Centaur, the Birth of Venus is painted on canvas - fairly unusual for its time - using a technique of thin tempera, based on the use of diluted egg yolk, ...
What type of goddess is Venus?
The Venus of the Uffizi is of the “Venus pudica” type, whose right breast is covered by her right hand and billowing long blond hair partially shrouds her body. The goddess stands upright on a shell as she is driven towards the shore by the breeze of Zephyrus, a wind god, who is holding the nymph, Chloris.
When was the Venus painting painted?
This universal icon of Western painting was probably painted around 1484 for the villa of Castello owned by Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de 'Medici. Giorgio Vasari saw the work there in the mid-sixteenth century – along with Botticelli’s other well-known Primavera – and described it precisely as "showing the Birth of Venus.".
Who was the king of Hungary who likened the Florentine painter to the legendary Apelles of?
It is for this reason that the humanist Ugolino Verino in his work Epigrammata, presented in 1485 to the King of Hungary, Matthias Corvinus, likened the Florentine painter to the legendary Apelles of Ancient Greece.
What is the subject of Venus' birth?
The subject is not strictly the "Birth of Venus", a title given to the painting only in the nineteenth century (though given as the subject by Vasari), but the next scene in her story, where she arrives on land, blown by the wind. The land probably represents either Cythera or Cyprus, both Mediterranean islands regarded by the Greeks as territories of Venus.
Where is the birth of Venus?
The painting is in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy.
What does the dress on Venus mean?
At the right a female figure who may be floating slightly above the ground holds out a rich cloak or dress to cover Venus when she reaches the shore, as she is about to do. She is one of the three Horae or Hours, Greek minor goddesses of the seasons and of other divisions of time, and attendants of Venus. The floral decoration of her dress suggests she is the Hora of Spring.
What did Plato think of Venus?
For Plato – and so for the members of the Florentine Platonic Academy – Venus had two aspects: she was an earthly goddess who 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. 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.
What is the style of Venus?
Style. Venus. Although the pose of Venus is classical in some respects, and borrows the position of the hands from the Venus Pudica type in Greco-Roman sculptures (see section below), the overall treatment of the figure, standing off-centre with a curved body of long flowing lines, is in many respects from Gothic art.
Who painted Venus in a shell?
Pliny also noted a second painting by Apelles of Venus "superior even to his earlier one," that had been begun by the artist but left unfinished. The Roman images in various media showing the new-born Venus in a giant shell may well be crude derivative versions of these paintings. Botticelli could not have seen the frescos unearthed later in Pompeii, but may well have seen small versions of the motif in terracotta or engraved gems. The "House of Venus" in Pompeii has a life-size fresco of Venus lying in the shell, also seen in other works; in most other images she stands with her hands on her hair, wringing the water from it, with or without a shell.
Who commissioned the birth of Venus?
But something more than a rediscovered Homeric hymn was likely in the mind of the Medici family member who commissioned this painting from Botticelli. Once again, Botticelli, in his version of the Birth of Venus, might be seen as completing the task begun by his ancient predecessor Apelles, even surpassing him. Giving added support to this interpretation of Botticelli as a born-again Apelles is the fact that that very claim was voiced in 1488 by Ugolino Verino in a poem entitled "On Giving Praise to the History of Florence."
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The Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli. (2016, Aug 01). Retrieved from https://phdessay.com/the-birth-of-venus-by-sandro-botticelli/
What does Venus represent?
The Venus archetype represents our capacity to relate to others. It shows what we value and desire, and how we attract people or things into our lives. Venus shows how you love and allow yourself to be loved. Venus is the ruler of Taurus and Libra. The symbol is the circle of spirit over the cross of matter.
What is Venus's god?
There are many gods or goddesses associated with Venus. The Babylonians had Ishtar, a fertility goddess. Her equivalent in Sumerian mythology was Inanna, goddess of heaven. She was also a fertility goddess, and patron of the arts and of battle.
Overview
Interpretations
Although there are ancient and modern texts that are relevant, no single text provides the precise imagery of the painting, which has led scholars to propose many sources and interpretations. Many art historians who specialize in the Italian Renaissance have found Neoplatonic interpretations, of which two different versions have been articulated by Edgar Wind and Ernst Gombrich, to be the key to understanding the painting. Botticelli represented the Neoplatonic ide…
Description and subject
In the centre the newly born goddess Venus stands nude in a giant scallop shell. The size of the shell is purely imaginary, and is also found in classical depictions of the subject. At the left the wind god Zephyr blows at her, with the wind shown by lines radiating from his mouth. He is in the air, and carries a young female, who is also blowing, but less forcefully. Both have wings. Vasari was probably correct in identifying her as "Aura", personification of a lighter breeze. Their joint ef…
Technical
The painting is large, but slightly smaller than the Primavera, and where that is a panel painting, this is on the cheaper support of canvas. Canvas was increasing in popularity, perhaps especially for secular paintings for country villas, which were decorated more simply, cheaply and cheerfully than those for city palazzi, being designed for pleasure more than ostentatious entertainment.
The painting is on two pieces of canvas, sewn together before starting, with a gesso ground tinte…
Style
Although the pose of Venus is classical in some respects, and borrows the position of the hands from the Venus Pudica type in Greco-Roman sculptures (see section below), the overall treatment of the figure, standing off-centre with a curved body of long flowing lines, is in many respects from Gothic art. Kenneth Clark wrote: "Her differences from antique form are not physiological, but rhythmic and structural. Her whole body follows the curve of a Gothic ivory. It is entirely without …
Dating and history
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 a…
Derivative versions
Botticelli, or more likely his workshop, repeated the figure of Venus in another painting of about 1490. This life-sized work depicts a similar figure and pose, partially clad in a light blouse, and contrasted against a plain dark background. It is in the Galleria Sabauda in Turin. There is another such workshop Venus in Berlin, and very likely others were destroyed in the "Bonfire of the Vanities". Examples seem to have been exported to France and Germany, probably influencing L…
See also
• 100 Great Paintings