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updated the information of the painting based on art historical scholarship of the last 35 years
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==Origins==
==Origins==
In the past many scholars thought that this large picture may have been, like the ''[[Primavera (Painting)|Primavera]]'', painted for [[Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco]] de' [[Medici]]'s Villa di Castello, around 1482, or even before. This was because Vasari, in his 1550 edition of the ''Lives of the Artists'' wrote: "...today, still at Castello, in the villa of the Duke Cosimo, there are two paintings, one the birth of Venus and those breezes and winds that bring her to land with the loves, and likewise another Venus, whom the Graces adorn with flowers, denoting the Springtime."<ref>Giorgio Vasari, ''Le vite de' piu eccellenti pittori, scultori ed architettori,'' ed. Gaetano Milanesi, Florence, 1906, III, 312.</ref> But the ''Birth of Venus,'' unlike the ''Primavera,''is not found in Medici inventories of the late-fifteenth and early-sixteenth centuries,<ref>John Shearman, "The Collections of the Younger Branch of the Medici," ''Burlington Magazine,'' CXVII (1975) 12-27.</ref> which has led some recent scholars to rethink the patronage, and hence the meaning, of the painting.
In the past many scholars thought that this large picture may have been, like the ''[[Primavera (Painting)|Primavera]]'', painted for [[Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco]] de' [[Medici]]'s Villa di Castello, around 1482, or even before. This was because Vasari, in his 1550 edition of the ''Lives of the Artists'' wrote: "...today, still at Castello, in the villa of the Duke Cosimo, there are two paintings, one the birth of Venus and those breezes and winds that bring her to land with the loves, and likewise another Venus, whom the Graces adorn with flowers, denoting the Springtime."<ref>Giorgio Vasari, ''Le vite de' piu eccellenti pittori, scultori ed architettori,'' ed. Gaetano Milanesi, Florence, 1906, III, 312.</ref> But the ''Birth of Venus,'' unlike the ''Primavera,''is not found in Medici inventories of the late-fifteenth and early-sixteenth centuries,<ref>John Shearman, "The Collections of the Younger Branch of the Medici," ''Burlington Magazine,'' CXVII (1975) 12-27.</ref> which has led some recent scholars to rethink the patronage, and hence the meaning, of the painting.


== Interpretation ==



Some historians believe it to be a celebration of the love of [[Giuliano di Piero de' Medici]] (who died in the [[Pazzi conspiracy]] in 1478)<ref name="HRW">Hugh Ross Williamson, ''Lorenzo the Magnificent'', Michael Joseph Diaz (1974), ISBN 0-7181-1204-0</ref> for [[Simonetta Cattaneo Vespucci]], who lived in [[Portovenere]], a town by the sea with a local tradition of being the birthplace of Venus.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.finearttouch.com/The_Art_of_Botticelli_The_Face_That_Launched_A_Thousand_Prints.html|title=The Face That Launched A Thousand Prints|author=Brenda Harness|accessdate=10 August 2009}}</ref> This claim, however, is dismissed as "romantic nonsense" by noted historian Felipe Fernández-Armesto:
Some historians believe it to be a celebration of the love of [[Giuliano di Piero de' Medici]] (who died in the [[Pazzi conspiracy]] in 1478)<ref name="HRW">Hugh Ross Williamson, ''Lorenzo the Magnificent'', Michael Joseph Diaz (1974), ISBN 0-7181-1204-0</ref> for [[Simonetta Cattaneo Vespucci]], who lived in [[Portovenere]], a town by the sea with a local tradition of being the birthplace of Venus.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.finearttouch.com/The_Art_of_Botticelli_The_Face_That_Launched_A_Thousand_Prints.html|title=The Face That Launched A Thousand Prints|author=Brenda Harness|accessdate=10 August 2009}}</ref> This claim, however, is dismissed as "romantic nonsense" by noted historian Felipe Fernández-Armesto:

Revision as of 18:16, 28 February 2010

The Birth of Venus
ArtistSandro Botticelli
Yearc. 1482–1486
Typetempera on canvas
LocationUffizi, Florence

The Birth of Venus is a painting by Sandro Botticelli. It depicts the goddess Venus, having emerged from the sea as a full grown woman, arriving at the sea-shore (Venus Anadyomene motif). The painting is held in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.

Origins

In the past many scholars thought that this large picture may have been, like the Primavera, painted for Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de' Medici's Villa di Castello, around 1482, or even before. This was because Vasari, in his 1550 edition of the Lives of the Artists wrote: "...today, still at Castello, in the villa of the Duke Cosimo, there are two paintings, one the birth of Venus and those breezes and winds that bring her to land with the loves, and likewise another Venus, whom the Graces adorn with flowers, denoting the Springtime."[1] But the Birth of Venus, unlike the Primavera,is not found in Medici inventories of the late-fifteenth and early-sixteenth centuries,[2] which has led some recent scholars to rethink the patronage, and hence the meaning, of the painting.


Interpretation

Some historians believe it to be a celebration of the love of Giuliano di Piero de' Medici (who died in the Pazzi conspiracy in 1478)[3] for Simonetta Cattaneo Vespucci, who lived in Portovenere, a town by the sea with a local tradition of being the birthplace of Venus.[4] This claim, however, is dismissed as "romantic nonsense" by noted historian Felipe Fernández-Armesto:

The vulgar assumption, for instance, that she was Botticelli's model for all his famous beauties seems to be based on no better grounds than the feeling that the most beautiful woman of the day ought to have modeled for the most sensitive painter.[5]

Whatever inspired the artist, there are clear similarities to Ovid's Metamorphoses and Fasti, as well as to Poliziano's Verses.

The classical goddess Venus emerges from the water on a shell, blown towards shore by the Zephyrs, symbols of spiritual passions. She is joined by one of the Horae, goddesses of the seasons, who hands her a flowered cloak.

The effect is distinctly pagan, considering it was made at a time and place when most artworks depicted Roman Catholic themes. It is somewhat surprising that this canvas escaped the flames of Savonarola's bonfires. Botticelli was very close to Lorenzo de' Medici. However, after Lorenzo's death and Savonarola's rise to power, the influence of the Medici family waned temporarily, and a number of Botticelli's alleged pagan influenced works perished in the Bonfire of the Vanities.

Venus's anatomy and various subsidiary details do not display the strict classical realism of Leonardo da Vinci or Raphael. Most obviously, Venus has an improbably long neck,[6] and her left shoulder slopes at an anatomically unlikely angle. Some have suggested it prefigures mannerism.

Classical inspiration

The painting was one of a series which Botticelli produced, taking as inspiration written descriptions by Pliny the Elder, Leonidas of Tarentum, Antipater of Sidon, Archias and the 2nd century historian Lucian of masterpieces of Ancient Greece which had long since disappeared. The ancient painting by Apelles was called Venus Anadyomene, "Anadyomene" meaning "rising from the sea"; this title was also used for Botticelli's painting, The Birth of Venus only becoming its better-known title in the 19th century. The central figure of Venus in the painting is very similar to Praxiteles' sculpture of Aphrodite. The version of her birth, is where she arises from the sea foam, already a full woman.

In classical antiquity, the sea shell was a metaphor for a woman's vulva.[7]

The pose of Botticelli's Venus is reminiscent of the Venus de' Medici, a marble sculpture from classical antiquity in the Medici collection which Botticelli had opportunity to study.

Reproductions and variations on Botticelli's famous painting have been numerous in popular culture. A notable example was Uma Thurman as Venus in the 1988 film The Adventures of Baron Munchausen recreating the painting.[8] The painting is colloquially called "Venus on the Half Shell," referring to seafood on the half-shell (as in Oysters Rockefeller); a novel entitled Venus on the Half-Shell by Philip Jose Farmer (under the pseudonym Kilgore Trout) was first published in 1975.[9]

Notes

  1. ^ Giorgio Vasari, Le vite de' piu eccellenti pittori, scultori ed architettori, ed. Gaetano Milanesi, Florence, 1906, III, 312.
  2. ^ John Shearman, "The Collections of the Younger Branch of the Medici," Burlington Magazine, CXVII (1975) 12-27.
  3. ^ Hugh Ross Williamson, Lorenzo the Magnificent, Michael Joseph Diaz (1974), ISBN 0-7181-1204-0
  4. ^ Brenda Harness. "The Face That Launched A Thousand Prints". Retrieved 10 August 2009.
  5. ^ Fernandez-Armesto, Felipe (2007). Amerigo. Random House. ISBN 1400062810. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  6. ^ Maland, David. "Europe in the sixteenth century". Indiana: Macmillan, 1973. 56
  7. ^ Clair, Jean. "Picasso érotique". Prestel, 2001. 71. ISBN 3-7913-2561-2
  8. ^ Lumenick, Lou. "Terry Gilliam Tripping the Light Fantastic." The Record (New Jersey), March 10, 1989.
  9. ^ Graham, Mark. "Specialty Bookshelf, March 14. Science Fiction. 'Venus on the Half-Shell and Others'." Rocky Mountain News, March 14, 2008.
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