Sandro Botticelli's Birth Of Venus Analysis

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Botticelli's Birth of Venus Analysis Essay
As Pablo Picasso once said "Painting is a blind man's profession. He paints not what he sees, but what he feels, what he tells himself about what he has seen." This statement could not be more true about art itself, including that of Sandro Botticelli. Most average people would think of Da Vinci or Picasso when they think of a great artist. However, many of today's art scholars consider Botticelli to be, like Da Vinci or Picasso, one of the great artists. The main reason for this is Botticelli's creation of his two fantastic masterpieces; the first being La Primavera and the second being The Birth of Venus. Both paintings now reside at the Uffizi museum in Florence Italy. Although both are beautiful, …show more content…

Sandro Botticelli, originally known as Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi, started off as a simple apprentice. However, it was through this apprenticeship that he became involved with the Medici family. The Medici family ruled different parts of Florence at the time and allowed for a cultural reformation over many aspects of life, including the arts (National Gallery). During the Early Renaissance most painters would only portray biblical stories and figures from the Christian faith. Under the protection of the Medici, though, Botticelli was able to stray from this tradition and paint something no one else dared to. Sometime between 1482 and 1485 Lorenzo Medici commissioned a painting from Botticelli to be a gift for his cousin's wedding, and so, The Birth of Venus was created (PBS). Botticelli painted this piece using the tempera method on canvas. In fact, it was "the first example in Tuscany of painting on canvas" (Uffizi Gallery). The medium which Botticelli used was not what gave this work of art it's fame though. First of all, Botticelli did not paint a Christian biblical scene for this piece. Instead, he painted a scene from the Greek pagan religion. This caused great controversy within the church. Also, the fact that Venus herself is painted nude created an outrage among not only the church, but even …show more content…

First of all, one must know just what the artist's intentions were for a painting such as Birth of Venus. At first glance it is obvious that the painting depicts a message of love, desire, and joy. However, if one looks closer into the contextual background they'll find this painting portrays much more than a simple Greek myth. For instance, because Birth of Venus was commissioned by Lorenzo Medici, some believe that this painting is also a metaphorical ode to the Medici family; that Botticelli chose this specific scene with these specific figures to show that the age of love and joy has been born from the Medici's rule. Whether his intentions are obvious or not, they certainly add to the emotional and also physical beauty of the piece as a whole. Botticelli's intentions are not the only thing that adds to this painting though. The principles and elements demonstrated in this piece are part of what makes it a

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