Brittanay Miller
Humanities 101
Professor Bomboy
9 April, 2015
The
Birth of Venus
The painting of the
Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli is no doubt a story in a painting. Some people might think it is about a girl
becoming a woman or others might think it is about a woman being rushed out of
her childhood. According to an article
on a website called Totally History, the Birth of Venus was “the subject of
endless intellectual speculation and interpretations of meaning.” (The Birth of
Venus by Sandro Botticelli).
When
I look at this painting of Venus, the Goddess of Love, I see some of the
elements of art. One element I see is Line. There are so many lines, such as in the
water. There are also multiple lines in
the sea shell. Another element I see is
Shape. The most common shapes are the rippled-like shapes in the water, in the
robe and in the hair styles of Venus, Zephyrus, Aura and Horae. I also see a lot of Color in this
painting. I mostly see light and dark
blue, white and pink. There is a light
brown or blonde color in all the women’s hair.
The Value of this painting is Venus, the Goddess of Love, of
course. The value goes hand in hand
along with the Focal Point for principles because the Focal Point is Venus
herself, just like the Value is of her as well.
When anyone looks at this painting, the main thing their eyes are drawn
to is Venus standing nude on a sea shell.
Some principles are also involved in this painting as well. Contrast of light and dark play a big part in
the painting, with the dark and light blues, and the occasional black or close
to it in Zephyrus’s hair and the trees behind Horae. The principle of Rhythm or Movement is in two
different areas. To the left of the
painting, Zephyrus and Aura are coming in towards the middle where Venus is standing
at, and to the right of the painting, Horae is coming towards the middle to
greet Venus. Therefore, the movement is
coming into the middle from both top corners of this painting. Another principle is Proportion, where all
the people, trees and the sea shell are large so your attention is on them the
most. There is most definitely a Repetition
of waves in the ocean, the flowers falling from the sky and also the flower
pattern on Horae’s dress and the pink robe.
Lastly, Unity is shown by everything in this painting coming together to
the middle to turn your Focal Point, again, on Venus. The use of all of these principles and
elements work together to create an unforgettable, iconic painting.
To
me, the meaning behind the painting of the Birth of Venus was to show how a young
girl or lady was becoming a mature woman.
My opinion, Zephyrus and Aura are sort of like “parents” and pushing her
into becoming an adult, fleeing her childhood.
Horae is like “the real world” or “adult world” and the robe is symbolic
of her adulthood whereas she has to stay an adult; she can’t go back and become
a child again. She has to be a grown up and be mature. I think Sandro Botticelli was trying to accomplish
for the viewers to see the beauty of maturing.
As you can see in the painting, she is becoming a woman yet she is still
covering her body like a young lady is taught to do. It is the beauty of her keeping her morals
and also blossoming into a woman. According
to the same article as mentioned previously, it is stated, “Perhaps the most
dominant view is that the painting was inspired by Neoplatonic thought. This
latter body of philosophy was a revival and slight reinterpretation of the
works of the ancient Greek philosopher Plato” (The Birth of Venus by Sandro
Botticelli). So according to research,
Botticelli’s motivation was from the past paintings of ancient Greeks.
I
personally think Sandro Botticelli successfully showed the ideas he was showing
for, which was to show the beauty of Venus becoming a woman and nourishing from
her childhood. This painting makes me
feel a sense of calmness and in awe over the choice of the elements of art and
principles of design that Botticelli used.
I understand why this is one of the most famous masterpieces in the
world. I am drawn to Venus’ beauty and
also the wind, flowers and how Zephyrus, the God of Winds, the gentle breeze
Aura and Horae, the Goddess of the Seasons are all beckoning to Venus. The critical viewpoint I took on this
painting was the feminist viewpoint. The
Birth of Venus has some unrealistic parts on the bodies. For example,
women do not have such an awkwardly long neck such as Venus does in this
painting. Aside from the long neck, her legs are also somewhat leaning too
far to the left, past her kneecap almost, but she is still maintaining an
upward pose. In real life, not any woman or man could keep their bodies
held up like that without falling over. The feet, legs, stomach and arms
however look fairly normal; as a women’s body in today’s world would look
like. Botticelli was simply showing how
a woman, any woman at that, is graceful and beautiful.
("The Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli.")
Works
Cited
"The Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli –
Facts about the Painting." Totally History The Birth
of Venus Comments.
N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Apr. 2015.
"The Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli." Italian
Renaissance Art.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Apr.
2015.
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