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Birth of VenusBirth of Venus © Erich Lessing/Art Resource, NY

Birth of Venus

Sandro Botticelli. c. 1484–1486 C.E. Tempera on canvas.

Curator Note

"The first large-scale painting of a pagan mythological subject. Botticelli depicts the birth of Venus, goddess of love, arriving on a shell. Influenced by Neoplatonism, it argues that physical beauty leads the mind to spiritual love. The figure of Venus is impossibly beautiful and weightless."

Form

  • Tempera on canvas (rare for the time).
  • Floating, weightless figures.
  • Linear style; emphasis on outline/pattern, not depth.
  • Pastel colors and gold highlights.
  • Impossible anatomy (long neck, steep shoulders).

Function

  • Wedding gift? (Associated with Medici family).
  • To celebrate Neoplatonic philosophy.
  • To revive mythological subject matter.
  • Decorative and intellectual.
  • A visual poem.

Content

  • Venus: Based on the "Venus Pudica" (modest Venus) statue.
  • Zephyr (West Wind) and Chloris blowing her to shore.
  • Pomona (Nymph) ready to clothe her with a floral cloak.
  • Roses blowing in the wind (love is painful/thorny).
  • Shell constitutes a rebirth.

Context

  • Commissioned by the Medici cousins.
  • Savonarola (radical monk) later condemned such "pagan" art (Bonfire of Vanities).
  • Botticelli ignored the new rules of perspective for poetic effect.
  • Neoplatonism: Venus = Virgin Mary (Love = God).
  • Iconic image of the Renaissance.