Sandro Botticelli
We rarely post the same masterpiece twice in DailyArt but there are artworks that really should be shown from time to time. :)
Commonly known as The Birth of Venus, this classic painting actually represents the goddess of love and beauty arriving on the shores of Cyprus. Born from the sea foam, she is carried to land by the winds—Zephyr and, perhaps, Aura. Venus stands upon a giant scallop shell, pure and radiant like a pearl. On the shore, she is greeted by a young woman—identified either as one of the Graces or as the Hora of Spring—who offers a flower-strewn cloak. Even the roses swept along by the wind allude to springtime renewal. Every element of the painting celebrates Venus as the embodiment of love and beauty.
The work was very likely commissioned by a member of the Medici family, although it is not documented until 1550, when Giorgio Vasari described it in the Villa di Castello, owned by a cadet branch of the dynasty since the mid-15th century. This attribution is reinforced by the orange trees depicted in the background, long associated with the Medici through the assonance between their name and the tree once called mala medica.
Unlike the Primavera, painted on wood, the Birth of Venus was executed on canvas, a support commonly used in the 15th century for decorative works destined for noble residences. Botticelli drew on classical statuary for Venus’s modest pose, as she veils her nudity with her long golden hair, gilded to catch the light. The wind gods embracing in flight also recall antiquity, inspired by a Hellenistic gem once owned by Lorenzo the Magnificent.
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P.S. Read 3 things you might not know about Botticelli’s Venus!