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The Birth of Venus (Bouguereau)

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The Birth of Venus
ArtistWilliam-Adolphe Bouguereau
Year1879
TypeOil on canvas
LocationMusée d'Orsay, Paris

The Birth of Venus (La Naissance de Vénus) is one of the most famous paintings by 19th-century painter William-Adolphe Bouguereau. It depicts not the actual birth of Venus from the sea, but her transportation in a shell, as a fully mature woman, from the sea to Paphos in Cyprus. For Bouguereau, it is considered a tour de force. The canvas stands at just over 9 ft 10 in (3.00 m) high, and 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) wide. The subject matter, as well as the composition, resembles the rather more famous rendition of this subject, Sandro Botticelli's The Birth of Venus, as well as Raphael's The Triumph of Galatea.

History

The Birth of Venus was created for the Paris Salon of 1879. It was awarded the Grand Prix de Rome, [1] and was purchased by the state for the Musée du Luxembourg.[2] The painting is now in the permanent collection of the Musée d'Orsay in Paris.

Description

At the center of the painting, Venus stands nude on a scallop shell (a visual metaphor for the female vulva)[3] being pulled by a dolphin, one of her symbols. Venus was modeled by Rosalie Tobia, who also modeled for other works by Bouguereau.[4] Fifteen putti, including Cupid and Psyche, and several nymphs and centaurs have gathered to witness Venus' arrival. Most of the figures are gazing at her, and two of the centaurs are blowing into conch shells, signaling her arrival. Venus was considered to be the embodiment of sex, beauty, enticement, seduction and persuasive female charm, and these traits are shown in the painting.[3] Venus' head is tilted to one side, and her facial expression is calm but seductive, unembarrassed of her nudity. She raises her arms,[5] arranging her thigh-length brown hair, and shows off her breasts. She sways elegantly in an "s" curve contrapposto, seductively emphasizing the feminine curves of her body, and drawing attention to her naked vulva.[6] Despite her frank sexuality, she holds her thighs together in "virginal refusal." [7]

Detail from The Nymphaeum, executed by Bouguereau in 1878. Venus' figure was enlarged from this nymph.

Venus' figure was enlarged from a nymph from Bouguereau's The Nymphaeum, completed in 1878 (a year earlier).[6] The nymph is slightly thinner, and Venus sways her body more intensely. Venus' complexion also is more seductive, and her body is whiter and more voluptuous than that of the nymph, all of which denotes her more sexual role. However, the nymph's breasts are fuller and more rounded. Venus' hair is also longer and lighter than the nymph's, but she arranges it almost identically.

To the upper-left of the painting, there is a shadow in the clouds. It appears to be the silhouette of the artist, with a head, shoulder, arm, and a raised fist that would seem to hold a paintbrush.[3]

Notes and References

  1. ^ Annette Labedzki. "His Most Famous Painting (The Birth of Venus) - William-Adolphe Bouguereau". Retrieved 15 October 2012.
  2. ^ "Study of the Head of a Woman for "Offering to Eros"". Retrieved 29 June 2012.
  3. ^ a b c "William Bouguereau. The birth of Venus. la naissance de Venus c1879". Retrieved 21 March 2012.
  4. ^ Thirza Vallois. "Modigliani and His Artist Friends". Retrieved 29 June 2012.
  5. ^ Similar to Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres' Venus Anadyomène.
  6. ^ a b "Venus Anadyomene: The Mythological Symbolism from Antiquity to the 19th Century". Retrieved 21 March 2012.
  7. ^ Much like the nude in Ingres' The Source

Media related to The Birth of Venus at Wikimedia Commons

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