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Botticelli's Birth of Venus depicts Venus a lovely young woman, but her face has a child-like innocence. This is possibly due to the fact that Venus is a "newborn". Seeing her standing on a seashell in the waves made me think of Venus' Greek name: Aphrodite, which means "sea foam". Her Greek name ties into her birth: when Chronos (Uranus in Rome) was killed by Zeus(Jupiter in Rome) his body fell of the top of Mount Olympus and landed into the ocean. The blood from Chronos' split head mixed with the sea foam, it gave birth to Aphrodite/ Venus.
It's amazing a painting from 1484-1486 still exists today, long after the artist has passed away. Botticelli is a master at depicting the female body. It is a narrative on 3 levels, moving from left to right, telling the story of her birth. It's interesting how an artist can combine concepts from past religious/cultural myths into an illustration of meaning to last for all time.Botticelli is a competent illustrator and this painting tells of a peaceful connection to birth and the miracle of life;a dynamic quality as well. He used good soft colors and atmospheric perspective too. T still wonder what Botticelli's childhood was like and when he began studying the creative arts. Some pieces simply testify to the skill of an artist. A well done illustrated connection to mythology.
ReplyDeleteSo what do you think about the actual painting itself? Do you like the modeling of forms? How about the energy created by the figures and the texture of the paint?
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