1. 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. 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. 3. What does Venus Symbolize ?
4. 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. 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. 6. Where does Venus come from?
7. 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
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9. 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/