Art models work naked in front of strangers for two to 20 minutes at a time. They exist in a fishbowl, capturing the attention of students who might never see them again.
Modeling can be a daunting experience for anyone. It’s hard to hold a pose for an extended period of time while listening to a photographer give instructions like “drop it a tich” or “close your eyes.” For this reason, many models choose to work with modeling agencies.
Botticelli’s Venus of Urbino
Despite its fame as the ultimate image of female beauty, art historians have been divided over the meaning of Titian’s Venus of Urbino. Some see the painting as a vapid erotic spectacle for male audiences and condemn it as a form of sexual pornography, but this interpretation ignores the complex functions of the picture in the context of sixteenth-century Italian culture.
Other scholars have argued that the painting is a celebration of domesticity and feminity, and depicts a young bride and a muse in a sensual erotic encounter. In her reclining position, the figure represents the divine incarnation of beauty and love. She is surrounded by flowers and other natural elements that symbolize femininity. The dog at her feet is a symbol of marital fidelity, and the myrtle plants in her bed suggest fertility.
The painting illustrates many aspects of classical mythology. For those attuned to Greco-Roman mythology, it is easy to identify Venus, the goddess of love and sexual passion. The painting also alludes to the biblical story of the Creation and the Incarnation.
Botticelli was a Renaissance painter who worked in the court of Florence, Italy’s ruling Medici family. He regularly produced portraits, religious scenes, and secular-mythological pictures for their villas and chapels. The Venus of Urbino was probably inspired by a marble sculpture known as the Aphrodite of Knidos. The Medicis were passionate collectors of classical art and frequently used it to decorate their palaces and gardens.
While modern critics have interpreted the Venus of Urbino as a celebration of sexual power, it was intended to be much more than that. The painting was a gift from the Duke of Urbino to his wife Giulia Varano, and it served as a “teaching model” for her in the etiquette and customs of marriage in sixteenth-century Italy.
Titian’s painting suggests that Venus is a woman who is fully sentient and aware of her own power. In contrast to the Dresden Venus, which depicts her as a sleeping god, this Venus is awake and beholden to her lover. The ambiguity of the figure’s identity creates a psychological tension that is reinforced by her pose and gesture.
Botticelli’s Venus reclining
The renowned marble sculpture Venus Callipyge, completed in the 1st or 2nd century BC, represents the goddess of love and fertility. A purposeful rendering of her reclining pose invites the viewer to dwell on her beauty. The oblique angle of her head and the way she gazes down behind herself are particularly striking. Some art historians suggest she might be admiring herself in the reflection of the sea, a reference to the miracle of her birth.
It’s a stance that has long inspired artists and has even found its way into modern culture. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, for example, William Etty painted hundreds of voluptuous reclining nudes. In doing so, he evoked a broad range of connotations, from the feasting Romans in the bath to the sexualised submission of odalisques (concubines) in the harem. The reclining figure also invokes Renaissance Neoplatonism, the philosophy that influenced Botticelli.
One of Botticelli’s most famous paintings, Venus and Mars, depicts the Roman gods in a mood of relaxed sensuality. It was probably commissioned by the less well-known branch of the de’ Medici family, and is often assumed to be a celebration of the marriage between Lorenzo de’ Medici’s elder daughter Simonetta and his younger son Giuliano.
Although the picture has been interpreted in many different ways, it is often seen as an allegory of human reproduction. The central reclining figure is Venus, who is depicted as she was at the moment of her birth. The satyrs, who are in the process of waking her, represent the male elements that are necessary for fertilisation. The background resembles a sea shell, alluding to the myth of Venus’s birth.
The reclining pose is also often used as a symbol of intoxication. This can be seen in a number of Renaissance works, including Titian’s 1538 Venus of Urbino, several copies of which are in UK public collections. Unlike the classical Venus Callipyge, which was a sculptural allegory, this figure of Venus is not covered up with cloth or drapery and is therefore more visible to the audience. This suggests that the painting was intended to be a more explicitly erotic allegory, reflecting Renaissance Neoplatonism and the idea of a woman’s body as a source of desire.
Botticelli’s Venus on the horizon
Botticelli’s Birth of Venus – Nascita di Venere – is one of the best-known paintings of the Renaissance period. It is in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence and depicts the goddess Venus emerging from the sea. The painting has many different meanings and interpretations but it is mainly seen as a symbol of beauty and love.
The painting was painted in 1486 and is a masterpiece of the Renaissance. It is based on classical statuary and the stance of Venus is reminiscent of the Medici Venus, a sculpture that Botticelli copied. The elongated neck and the proportions of the body also give it a sensual quality. In addition, the artist added gold leaf to her hair and eyes. This gives the figure a glow and an appearance of weightlessness.
This painting has a lot of symbolic meanings and is often interpreted as an allegory for the divine love between men and women. It is also a reference to the Roman concept of beauty as well as to Neo-Platonic ideas about spiritual and physical beauty. In this context, Venus represents the love of God and the human soul.
As a piece of objective art, it is also a study in line and color. The light blues of the sea and sky are complemented by a range of colors in the vegetation and the seashell. The use of light and dark colors is typical of Botticelli’s work. His use of lines also adds a sense of three-dimensionality and movement to the composition.
Botticelli portrayed the Goddess as both young and old. His younger version has long and lustrous hair. She is also wearing a wreath of flowers that is reminiscent of the Virgin Mary’s crown and her hand rests on the horizon, which suggests she is waiting for Spring to come.
The older Venus is pale with wistful eyes. She is not smiling and appears to be yearning for something that does not yet exist. In this sense, the painting can be considered a metaphor for modern life.
Botticelli’s Venus on the beach
The most famous of Botticelli’s paintings, The Birth of Venus, shows the Goddess of Love and Beauty as she drifts towards land from her gilded scallop shell. She is surrounded by the personifications of the winds, Zephyrus and Aura. Her body is covered with roses and branches of myrtle, both sacred plants to Venus. Behind her, a handmaid, Ora, waits to dress her shy body. The painting is a major example of Botticelli’s mastery of line, showing the way that the artist created movement and depth.
Venus’s nakedness in the painting is a departure from the Roman image of the Goddess. Naked women were not as common in Renaissance paintings as they are today, so depicting Venus as a nude was extremely shocking at the time. Botticelli may have based the pose on the famous Medici Venus, a marble statue that was once displayed in the Uffizi Tribune. The Venus in the painting has a demure expression, which was meant to show that she was pure and innocent.
Botticelli’s version of the Goddess also differs from the Roman one in that she is not smiling. Her face is wane and pale, with a look of yearning and sadness that is very different from the smiles of the Roman goddesses.
Unlike the Venus of Urbino, The Birth of Venus is painted on canvas rather than wood. This was a more practical choice because it made the painting easier to ship and less likely to warp or crack over time. The painting was first exhibited in London in 1505, and in the following years it was shown at Paris’s Palais des Champs-Élysées and the World’s Fair in San Francisco and New York City.
Eventually, The Birth of Venus became the defining image of Renaissance art and is now considered to be one of the greatest masterpieces of Italian painting. The picture has become an indispensable part of the Western art historical canon, influencing many subsequent artists. It is now a key part of the collection at The Uffizi in Florence, Italy. It is a must-see for anyone visiting the city.