Body Representation in Renaissance Portraits

1501 Words4 Pages

This essay will reflect on how body is represented in the portraiture art within the Renaissance’s golden period detailing specifically Botticelli’s paintings and how this experience have broadened and enhanced my knowledge towards the future interest. This period arise when the medieval dark ages come to its end and artist and their patronage reinvented and represented the ideas of the classical mythology, particularly of the ancient Greek and Rome. It is a time when outstanding numbers of paintings, sculptures, alfresco were born and a human body was exposed as the centre of the universe. An epoch where the dominate themes were no longer pure religious devotions but it shift its focus primarily towards the anatomical beauty of the bodies, ideally represented. Furthermore, I will detail Botticelli’s paintings “The Birth of Venus” and briefly reflect on other two “Venus and Mars” and “Primavera” paintings. All three include the mythic figure of the Venus, who signifies both passionate love and intellectual love that still culturally lives in today’s world. In my view a real portrait signifies the components of the individuality and also can translates the ideal impression of the truth embodied within human body and soul.

In order to familiarise myself with the above topic, I have invested much time reading vast selection of the portraiture art themes with aim to get acquainted with the knowledge and the language used in this particular subject. It was very challenging and entertaining to read comprehensive range of various critiques and analysis of the world best paintings stretching from ancient classic to contemporary western image. Developing understanding of the diverse art expressions and social and political influences tha...

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..., 42(2), 179-202. doi: 10.1111/j.1475-6757.2012.01103.x

Dee, J. (2013). Eclipsed: an overshadowed goddess and the discarded image of Botticelli’s Primavera. Renaissance Studies, 27(1),4-33. doi: 10.1111/j.1477-4658.2011.00769.x

Gromling, A. & Lingesleben,T. (1998). Botticelli 1444/45-1510 [Translation from the German; Fiona Hulse] (1st ed.).Koln, Germany: Neue Stalling, Oldenburg.

Haughton, N. (2004). Perception of beauty in Renaissance art. Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 3(4), 229-233. doi: 10.1111/j.1473-2310.2004.00142.x

Long, J.C., (2008). Botticelli’s Birth of Venus as wedding painting. Aurora, The Journal of the History of Art, 9, p.1. ISSN 1527-652X.

Morrison, B. (2004, June 12). Portraits. The Guardian, p. 16.

1. Ward, H. (2011). “The rising genius': Simeon Solomon’s unexplored interpretation of Alessandro Botticelli. British Art Journal, 12(3), 60.

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