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AUTONOMOUS STATUS - CHED

Soc. Sci. 415 (Humanities)

Redel C. Viernesto Dr. Vima A. Olivares

MAT SocSci Student Professor

THE BIRTH OF VENUS

SANDRO BOTTICELLI: THE LIFE OF AN ARTIST

Sandro Botticelli, original name Alessandro di Mariano Filipepi,

(born 1445, Florence [Italy]—died May 17, 1510, Florence), one of the
greatest painters of the Florentine Renaissance. His The Birth of Venus
and Primavera are often said to epitomize for modern viewers the spirit of
the Renaissance.

THE BIRTH OF VENUS: HISTORICAL CONTEXT

Venus, according to the Greek poet Hesiod who wrote the

Theogony, was born out of sea foam. Ancient mythology is filled with
blood and violence and this story is not an exception. 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 fertilized, 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. In the painting we see
Zephyrus embracing the nymph Chloris. The girl about to cover Venus
with a flowery mantle is thought to be one of the Hours. They were the
mythological handmaidens of Venus who also had power over the natural
cycle of the seasons. The island she arrives at is Cyprus, or Citharea.

THE BIRTH OF VENUS: AESTHETIC CONSIDERATION

In the painting we see here, Venus is prominently depicted in the
center, born out of the foam as she rides to shore.  On the left, the figure
of Zephyrus carries the nymph Chloris (alternatively identified as “Aura”)
as he blows the wind to guide Venus.

On shore, a figure who has been identified as Pomona, or as the

goddess of Spring, waits for Venus with mantle in hand.  The mantle
billows in the wind from Zephyrus’ mouth.

The composition is similar in some respects to that of the

Primavera. Venus is slightly to the right of center, and she is isolated
against the background so no other figures overlap her.  She has a slight
tilt of the head, and she leans in an awkward contrapposto-like stance.

Of obvious importance in this painting is the nudity of Venus. The

depiction of nude women was not something that was normally done in
the Middle Ages, with a few exceptions in specific circumstances. For the
modeling of this figure, Botticelli turned to an Aphrodite statue, such as
the Aphrodite of Cnidos, in which the goddess attempts to cover herself
in a gesture of modestly.

THE BIRTH OF VENUS: COLOR SIGNIFICANCE

Botticelli paid much attention to her hair and hairstyle, which
reflected his interest in the way women wore their long hair in the late
fifteenth century. He gave Venus an idealized face which is remarkably
free of blemishes, and beautifully shaded her face to distinguish a lighter
side and a more shaded side. In painting Venus, Botticelli painted a dark
line around the contours of her body. This made it easier to see her
bodily forms against the background, and it also emphasized the color of
her milky skin. The result of all of this is that Venus almost looks like
her flesh is made out of marble, underscoring the sculpturesque nature
of her body.

THE BIRTH OF VENUS: SPIRITUAL MOTIF AND IDEAS

The Birth of Venus depicts several gods.

Venus, goddess of love, stands demurely on the seashell, being

blown to shore by Zephyr, god of the west wind. There, one of the Horae,
goddesses of the seasons, is ready with a cape to clothe the newborn
deity.

The fourth figure carried by Zephyr is meant to be either an Aura

(nymphs of the wind) or Chloris, a nymph associated with spring and
blossoming flowers like those flowing through the picture.
THE BIRTH OF VENUS: PHILOSOPHICAL INFLUENCE

Venus depicts several gods. The demand for this type of scene, of
course, was humanism, which was alive and well in the court of Lorenzo
d’ Medici in the 1480s. Here, Renaissance humanism was open not only
to the use of a pagan sculpture as a model, but also a pagan narrative
for the subject matter.

THE BIRTH OF VENUS: PSYCHOLOGICAL INFLUENCE

During Botticelli’s life, his works were often overshadowed by the

artists of the High Renaissance. But 400 years after The Birth of Venus’
completion, Botticellis began making their way into the collections of
European museums. His pieces finally won esteem in the 19th century,
with The Birth of Venus becoming his most revered work.

Beyond being a beloved example of Renaissance art, the painting

has also become a marker by which other eras’ beauty norms are
measured. Her pose has been co-opted by various modern models. And
as recently as 2014, The Birth of Venus has been used as a tool to
criticize modern beauty standards.

Reference:
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Sandro-Botticelli
http://www.italianrenaissance.org/botticelli-birth-of-venus/
http://mentalfloss.com/article/64273/15-things-you-should-know-about-
birth-venus