Humanism, Medici, and Pagan Archetypes!
Sandro Botticelli’s, The Birth of Venus, gives me a delight as an ode to pagan subject matter. The round curves of the waves and Venus’ body create a calming effect that welcomes the goddess of love. The painting celebrates woman’s beauty by centering Venus, a female goddess celebrating her own body and having autonomy to project her nude body as she wishes. This was painted by Botticelli as it was commissioned by the Medici family to display in their home. The goddess of love painted in a Christian world during the renaissance could be viewed as the birth of love, in place of accepting Venus as a true deity.
The Birth of Venus represents
the personification of love as BYU stipulates:
This commission reflects the Florentine custom among the wealthy of preparing a chamber for the newly married couple in the family palace of the groom, adorned with art that contained either romantic themes of love or heroines famous for their exemplary virtues. While these paintings reference classical mythology, the scenes do not represent any known story, but instead serve as allegories of the various stages of love. (2009)
Love can be the birth, intimacy, romance, infidelity, and/or platonic. Love has various stages that can elicit joy or extreme anguish during times of grief. The freedom and happiness eluded by the arrival of Venus is evident by the cool colors and curves utilized in Botticelli's work. The decorative canvas and
love centered theme suggest a connection to the Medici
family. The Medici family were wealthy patrons and consumers of art. Much of their
collection were humanist pieces that were grounded in classic literature
allegories. Many of the commissions were inspired by classical novels and poems
that expanded an idea beyond the church. Venus is one of many pagan concepts and
deities that are often expressed in classical works.
The painting came to life in Florence where art was flourishing during the early renaissance period. Zucker and Harris state, “Florence saw itself as the ideal city state, a place where the freedom of the individual was guaranteed, and where many citizens had the right to participate in the government” (2015). Florence’s freedom during the renaissance period inspired art to challenge boundaries and ground itself in humanism-based practices. The freedom to explore themes beyond Christian theocracy was a product of the government that was in place in Florence. Artincontext documents, "The Birth of Venus was made for home display, possible for the Villa di Castello, which belonged to Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de Medici in 1486" (2022). There is not any certified documentation on who the painting was commissioned for. However, the intricacy of the painting paired with the classical theme allude to a Medici family relation of their art consumption.
The wealthy families that contributed to the art movement have helped birth humanist ideologies that challenged the Christian influence myriad art works have prescribed to. The freedom Venus is given to explore her identity as the archetype for love challenges the position woman were viewed as second to man (in Christian ideologies). On the contrary, using woman as a love symbol still perpetuated the idea that woman’s purpose was to be the embodiment of love and superficial adoration, but not appreciated and revered as an equal. The unique visage of Venus’ authority in The Birth of Venus helps to highlight the degree in which the female body was surveyed as entertainment. In conclusion, Venus is albeit empowering in The Birth of Venus, but serves as an allegorical contrast to the reality where women were still second to men.
References
Artincontext. (2022, February 4). "The birth
of venus" botticelli - an analysis of the birth of Venus Painting. Art
in Context ORG. Retrieved October 2, 2022, from https://artincontext.org/the-birth-of-venus-botticelli/
Botticelli, S. (n.d.). The birth of venus by
Botticelli: Artworks: Uffizi galleries. The birth of Venus by Botticelli |
Artworks | Uffizi Galleries. Retrieved October 2, 2022, from https://www.uffizi.it/en/artworks/birth-of-venus
BYU. (2009). Birth of Venus and Medici Venus.
Digitial Collections. Retrieved October 2, 2022, from https://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/digital/collection/Civilization/id/730/
Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Beth Harris, "Florence
in the Early Renaissance," in Smarthistory, August 9, 2015, accessed
October 2, 2022, https://smarthistory.org/florence-in-the-early-renaissance/.
Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker, "Sandro
Botticelli, The Birth of Venus," in Smarthistory, December 5, 2015,
accessed October 2, 2022, https://smarthistory.org/sandro-botticelli-the-birth-of-venus/.
Great read! This is an interesting painting, I like how you mentioned that she is able to be free and not feel shamed. I also like how you mentioned that this was created in a city where the freedom of individuals in guaranteed. I think this painting is pretty cool but I probably wouldn't own one.
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DeleteAlso according to https://headstuff.org/culture/visual-arts/the-birth-of-venus-botticelli/, "it is said that Venus was born as a fully-grown woman. She was conceived when the Titan Cronus castrated his father, the god Uranus. The severed genitals fell into the sea, fertilizing it. Venus was believed to be a woman who represented the idealized version of woman" I thought this was pretty interesting because it is very different from the religious approach.
ReplyDeleteThe Birth of Venus is one of my absolute favorite works of art. I love the muted tones and timeless beauty of the piece. I also love how it has been replicated time and again in pop art. If you have time, search "Birth of Venus in Pop Art." There are some really fun ode's to Venus out there - having grown up in the 90's, I personally appreciate the one with Cher from "Clueless" as Venus. So fun! There's also one of Marilyn Monroe. It's been referenced on the cover of magazines, journals, and Beyonce did a photo shoot with her twins as Venus. I love how Botticelli's work has stayed so relevant all these years.
ReplyDeleteThe Birth of Venus is one of my absolute favorite works of art. I love the muted tones and timeless beauty of the piece. I also love how it has been replicated time and again in pop art. If you have time, search "Birth of Venus in Pop Art." There are some really fun ode's to Venus out there - having grown up in the 90's, I personally appreciate the one with Cher from "Clueless" as Venus. So fun! There's also one of Marilyn Monroe. It's been referenced on the cover of magazines, journals, and Beyonce did a photo shoot with her twins as Venus. I love how Botticelli's work has stayed so relevant all these years.
DeleteWow, I have seen this painting countless times, but never would have guessed the complex story behind it! I love the concealed message behind it that the subject of this painting was fighting against the expectations of women during a very scrutinizing time period. You can certainly look at this piece and recognize the influence of humanism in the way that the artist adds the most minute details to bring the goddess to life.
ReplyDeleteSomething I came across regarding this piece a few years back was that each individual in the painting represents a god. I think that makes the work of Botticelli even more fascinating, as the goddess Venus stands her ground amongst some of the most worshipped names during the time period. Truly powerful!
Hello, Mariah! I love your take on The Birth of Venus; it's such an iconic piece, and I am grateful you shared your take on it. I also like your interpretation of how this applies to women. One detail I have noticed in Renaissance art is the ample symbolism and references used. It makes hearing someone else’s interpretation that much more important. I looked at Botticelli’s La Primavera for my Renaissance blog. I bring this up because there are similar figures used in both pieces. Venus plays a central role in both of them, but Botticelli shows different facets of her in each piece. I think Venus’s innocence and novelty is a bigger theme in The Birth of Venus. I see her as being more maternal in La Primavera. Additionally, the wind blowing Venus in this picture is the Greek god Zephyrus, and he is also in both paintings. I was looking at one of the sources you linked (ArtInContext.org), and it mentions that the figure with Zephyrus may be Chloris or Aura. The common figures and differences between these pieces are fascinating to me. It is believed that both of them were Medici family commissions, so I wonder if the similarities have anything to do with commission details.
ReplyDeleteI also like the painting. I picked the last supper by davinci. The two of them are kind of both views of what the artist might have thought the subject would have looked like. That is why it was a humanist look at Venus and the symbols used or mainly the looks of how the men on the left of the print like what they see and the female on the right side might be trying to cover up Venus as she is maybe offended by the nude look.
ReplyDeleteThis painting is one of the coolest one I have see so far and it almost look like close to next to last supper
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