Venus Binding her Hair

Venus Binding her Hair

Title: Venus Binding her Hair (Vénus nouant ses cheveux)
Artist: John William Godward (1861–1922)
Date: 1897

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http://www.artrenewal.org
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Godward_-_Venus_Binding_Her_Hair.jpg

Diana (Augustus, 1893)

Diana by Augustus Saint-Gaudens

Description: Diana (1892 - 93), Augustus Saint-Gaudens. Bronze, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City
Author: Augustus Saint-Gaudens (1848–1907)

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Diana_by_Augustus_Saint-Gaudens_01.jpg

The Birth of Venus

The Birth of Venus

Artist: William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825–1905)
Date: 1879

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The Birth of Venus (La Naissance de Vénus) is one of the most famous paintings by 19th century painter William-Adolphe Bouguereau. It depicts not the actual birth of Venus from the sea, but the transportation of Venus in a shell (a visual metaphor for the vulva) from the sea to Paphos in Cyprus. For Bouguereau, it was truly a tour de force. The canvas stands at just over 9'10" (3m) high, and 7'2" (2.2m) wide. The subject matter, as well as the composition, resembles the rather more famous rendition of this subject, Sandro Botticelli's The Birth of Venus, as well as Raphael's painting, The Triumph of Galatea.

The painting is currently held in the M. H. de Young Memorial Museum in San Francisco as part of the Birth Of Impressionism exhibition.

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References

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:William-Adolphe_Bouguereau_(1825-1905)_-_The_Birth_of_Venus_(1879).jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Birth_of_Venus_(Bouguereau)

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This image (or other media file) is in the public domain because its copyright has expired. This applies to the United States, Australia, the European Union and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 70 years.

The Birth of Venus (Alexandre, 1863)

The Birth of Venus (Alexandre, 1863)

Alexandre Cabanel, The Birth of Venus (1863), oil on canvas, 130 x 225 cm. Paris, Musée d'Orsay
Español: El nacimiento de Venus (1863).
Artist: Alexandre Cabanel (1823–1889)

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:1863_Alexandre_Cabanel_-_The_Birth_of_Venus.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academic_art

Venus Anadyomène

Venus Anadyomène

Artist: Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres (1780–1867)
Title: Venus Anadyomène
Year: 1848
Technique: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 164 × 82 cm (64.57 × 32.28 in)

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http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1848_Jean-Auguste-Dominique_Ingres_-_Venus_Anadyom%C3%A8ne.jpg
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Jean_Auguste_Dominique_Ingres

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This image (or other media file) is in the public domain because its copyright has expired. This applies to the United States, Australia, the European Union and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 70 years.

Rokeby Venus by Diego Velázquez

Rokeby Venus by Diego Velázquez

Date: 1647-1651
Author: Diego Velázquez (1599–1660)

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:RokebyVenus.jpg

Diane the Huntress (1550-1560)

Diane the Huntress

Artist: School of Fontainebleau
Meister der Schule von Fontainebleau
Title: "Diane the Huntress"
Deutsch: Diana als Jägerin
Year: 1550-1560
Technique
Deutsch: Leinwand
Dimensions: 192 × 133 cm
Current location: Musée du Louvre, Pari

Venus, Cupid, Folly and Time

Venus, Cupid, Folly and Time

Artist: Angelo Bronzino (1503–1572)
Title: Venus, Cupid, Folly and Time [Allegory of the Triumph of Venus]
Deutsch: Allegorie des Triumphes der Venus
Français : Allégorie du triomphe de Vénus
Italiano: Allegoria del trionfo di Venere
Year: 1540-1545
Technique:
Deutsch: Öl auf Holz
Français : Oil on wood
Français : Huile sur bois
Italiano: Olio su tavola
Dimensions: 146 × 116 cm (57.48 × 45.67 in)
Current location: National Gallery, London

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Venus, Cupid, Folly, and Time - also referred to as An Allegory of Venus and Cupid and A Triumph of Venus - is an allegorical painting by the Florentine artist Agnolo Bronzino now in the National Gallery, London.

Around 1546, Bronzino was commissioned to create a painting which has come to be known as Venus, Cupid, Folly, and Time. It displays the ambivalence, eroticism and obscure imagery which is characteristic of the Mannerist period, and of Bronzino's master Pontormo.

The painting may have been commissioned by Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany or by Francesco Salviati, to be presented by him as a gift to Francis I of France. Vasari wrote that it was sent to King Francis, though he does not specify by whom. The erotic imagery would have appealed to the tastes prevalent in both the Medici and French courts at this time. The attention to texture and wealth is also consistent with Bronzino's aristocratic patronage. The figure of Venus can be likened to a precious object (such as a marble statue) in a luxurious setting, desirable because of her unavailability.

Crowded into the claustrophobic foreground of the painting are several figures whose identities have been the subject of extensive scholarly debate. The themes of the painting appear to be lust, deceit, and jealousy. At times it has also been called A Triumph of Venus. Its meaning, however, remains elusive. Cupid, along with his mother Venus and the nude putto to the right, are all posed in a typical Mannerist figura serpentinata form.

The two central figures are easily identified by their attributes as Venus and Cupid. For example, she holds the golden apple she won in the Judgement of Paris, while he sports the characteristic wings and quiver. Both figures are nude, illuminated in a radiant white light. Cupid fondles his mother's bare breast and kisses her lips. Even more bizarre is the subtle element of Venus's tongue; she appears to be on the verge of slipping it into Cupid's mouth. This tiny detail was evidently the most scandalous aspect of all and at least one previous owner had it painted out over the years. Cupid appears to be nearing adolescence—notably older than the cherubic Cupid who appears in other works, and edging into the age where he might be old enough to make love to his mother—while Venus is portrayed as a beautiful young woman in her twenties. It has been suggested that Venus' legs appear to be slightly spread, possibly to indicate she is ready to receive Cupid sexually. Venus is shown holding Cupid's arrow which perhaps implies that she is in control of their lovemaking. As the couple seem on verge of a sexual tryst, they are also about to be showered from behind with rose petals by a naked boy, believed to represent jest, folly or pleasure. Another meaning that could be derived, would be through the detail of cupid's hand on his mother's crown, as if to say Be careful of who you love, you never know if they have honorable intentions.

The bearded, bald figure to the upper right of the scene is believed to be Time, in view of the hourglass behind him. He sweeps his arm forcefully out to his right. Again, it is difficult to interpret his gesture with any certainty; it could be to prevent the figure at the far left of the picture from shielding the incestuous transgressions of Venus and the adolescent Cupid with the billowing blue fabric that provides a screen between the figures in the fore and background. Many believe that his gesture seems to say, Time is fleeting, and you never know when it may be all over. The figure opposite time, and also grasping at the drapery, is usually referred to as Oblivion due to the lack of substance to his form--notice the eyeless sockets and the mask-like head. The mask-like face of this figure is echoed by the image of two actual masks in the lower right-hand corner.

The identity of the remaining figures is even more ambiguous. The old woman rending her hair has been called Jealousy—though some believe her to represent the ravaging effects of syphilis (result of unwise intercourse). The creature at the right hand side behind Folly, with a girl's face and grotesque body, extending a honeycomb with her left hand attached to her right arm, may represent Pleasure and Fraud. There is, however, no consensus on these identifications.

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Links and References

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus,_Cupid,_Folly_and_Time
Essay on this painting from the book Beauty and Terror by Brian A. Oard
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Angelo_Bronzino_001.jpg

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Mannerist paintings | Collections of the National Gallery, London | 1545 paintings | Bronzino paintings | Paintings of Venus

Venus Anadyomene

Venus Anadyomene

Artist: Titian (1477?-1576)
Date: 1525
Technique: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: H 75.8 x W 57.6 cm

Venus Anadyomene offered a natural subject for a fountain: the National Gallery of Art, Washington DC has a lifesize bronze plumbed so that water drips from Venus’ hair, modelled by a close follower of Giambologna, late sixteenth century.

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Artist

Titian (1477?-1576)
Alternative names: Tiziano Vecelli; Tiziano Vecellio

Tiziano Vecelli or Vecellio, commonly known as Titian, was a 16th century Renaissance painter in Venice, Italy.

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References

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Anadyomene.jpg
http://akorra.com/2010/03/06/top-20-beautiful-female-nude-artwork/

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This image (or other media file) is in the public domain because its copyright has expired. This applies to the United States, Australia, the European Union and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 70 years.

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Titian Venuses | Female nude in paintings | Venus Anadyomenes | 1525 paintings | National Gallery of Scotland | Hair care in art | Female red hair in art | Female long hair in art | Paintings of standing women | Oil paintings of women | People with water | Women facing left | Renaissance paintings in the United Kingdom

Sleeping Venus (1508-1510)

Sleeping Venus (1508-1510)

Artist: Giorgione (1477 — 1510)
Title: Sleeping Venus
Deutsch: Schlummernde Venus
Year: between 1508 and 1510
Technique: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 108 × 175 cm (42.52 × 68.90 in)
Current location: Gemäldegalerie, Dresden

This painting was done by Giorgione in approx. 1509 c. It was unfinished at the time of his death and the sky was later finished by Titian. (Titian also painted a similar Venus, but it was not as agitated and unsettled as Giorgione's nude.) Obviously a painting with underlying erotic implications, this can be seen by the Venus' raised arm (the exposed arm pit a symbol of sexuality) and also the blatant placement of her left hand. The sheets are a silver colour (a cold colour rather than a more commonly used warm tone) and they are very rigid looking (in comparison to Titian's or Velzquez's Venus'). The landscape mimicks the curves of the nude and this in turn relates the human body back to natural, organic object.

The Birth of Venus (Botticelli)

The Birth of Venus

Artist: Sandro Botticelli
Title: The Birth of Venus
Bosanski: Rođenje Venere.
Česky: Zrození Venuše.
Dansk: Venus' fødsel.
Deutsch: Geburt der Venus.
Español: El nacimiento de Venus.
Eesti: Veenuse sünd.
Français : La Naissance de Vénus.
Italiano: La nascita di Venere.
日本語: ヴィーナスの誕生
한국어: 비너스의 탄생
Polski: Narodziny Wenus.
Slovenčina: Zrodenie Venuše.
Suomi: Venuksen syntymä.
Svenska: Venus födelse.
Türkçe: Venüs'ün Doğuşu
Русский: Рождение Венеры.
中文: 维纳斯的诞生
Year: 1486
Technique: Tempera on canvas
Dimensions: 172.5 × 278.5 cm (67.91 × 109.65 in)
Current location: Galleria degli Uffizi

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The Birth of Venus is a painting by Sandro Botticelli. It depicts the goddess Venus, having emerged from the sea as a full grown woman, arriving at the sea-shore (which is related to the Venus Anadyomene motif). The painting is held in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.

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Origins

In the past many scholars thought that this large picture may have been, like the Primavera, painted for Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de' Medici's Villa di Castello, around 1482, or even before. This was because Vasari, in his 1550 edition of the Lives of the Artists wrote: "...today, still at Castello, in the villa of the Duke Cosimo, there are two paintings, one the birth of Venus and those breezes and winds that bring her to land with the loves, and likewise another Venus, whom the Graces adorn with flowers, denoting the Springtime." But the Birth of Venus, unlike the Primavera, is not found in Medici inventories of the late-fifteenth and early-sixteenth centuries, which has led some recent scholars to rethink the patronage, and hence the meaning, of the painting. In the last 30 years most art historians have dated the painting, based on its stylistic qualities, to c. 1485-87.

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Interpretation

The iconography of Birth of Venus is very similar to a description of the event (or rather, a description of a sculpture of the event) in a poem by Angelo Poliziano, the Stanze per la giostra. No single text provides the precise content of the painting, however, which has led scholars to propose many sources and interpretations. Art historians who specialize in the Italian Renaissance have found a Neoplatonic interpretation, which was most clearly articulated by Ernst Gombrich, to be the most enduring way to understand the painting.

For Plato - and so for the members of the Florentine Platonic Academy - Venus had two aspects: she was an earthly goddess who aroused humans to physical love or she was a heavenly goddess who inspired intellectual love in them. Plato further argued that contemplation of physical beauty allowed the mind to better understand spiritual beauty. So, looking at Venus, the most beautiful of goddesses, might at first raise a physical response in viewers which then lifted their minds towards the Creator. A Neoplatonic reading of Botticelli's Birth of Venus suggests that fifteenth-century viewers would have looked at the painting and felt their minds lifted to the realm of divine love.

More recently, questions have arisen about Neoplatonism as the dominant intellectual system of late fifteenth-century Florence, and scholars have indicated that there might be other ways to interpret Botticelli's mythological paintings. In particular, both Primavera and Birth of Venus have been seen as wedding paintings that suggest appropriate behaviors for brides and grooms.

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Style

Botticelli's art was never fully committed to naturalism; in comparison to his contemporary Domenico Ghirlandaio, Botticelli seldom gave weight and volume to his figures and rarely used a deep perspectival space. In the Birth of Venus, Venus' body is anatomically improbable, with elongated neck and torso. Her pose is impossible: although she stands in a classical contrapposto stance, her weight is shifted too far over the left leg for the pose to be held. Moreover, were she actually to stand on the edge of the shell (which cannot be identified as real), it would certainly tip over. The bodies and poses of the winds to the left are even harder to figure out. The background is summary, and the figures cast no shadows. It is clear that this is a fantasy image.

Venus is an Italian Renaissance ideal: blonde, pale-skinned, voluptuous. Botticelli has picked out highlights in her hair with gold leaf and has emphasized the femininity of her body (long neck, curviness). The brilliant light and soothing colors, the luxurious garden, the gorgeous draperies of the nymph, and the roses floating around the beautiful nude all suggest that the painting is meant to bring pleasure to the viewer.

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Classical inspiration

The central figure of Venus in the painting is very similar to Praxiteles' sculpture of Aphrodite. The version of her birth, is where she arises from the sea foam, already a full woman.

In classical antiquity, the sea shell was a metaphor for a woman's vulva.

The pose of Botticelli's Venus is reminiscent of the Venus de' Medici, a marble sculpture from classical antiquity in the Medici collection which Botticelli had opportunity to study.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Birth_of_Venus_(Botticelli)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:La_nascita_di_Venere_(Botticelli).jpg

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1486 paintings | Botticelli paintings in the Uffizi | Venus Anadyomenes | Paintings depicting Greek myths | Paintings of Venus