The Birth of Venus

Art Analysis Paper

By Charlie Evans

In Greek Mythology, Aphrodite was known as the goddess of love, beauty,

and sexuality. Aphrodite was then reformed in a way through Roman
Mythology and became Venus, goddess of love, beauty, sexuality, fertility,
prosperity and desire. There are many similarities between both Aphrodite
and Venus with very few differences which makes it clear that Aphrodite and
Venus are the same Goddess of Love. In Roman Mythology, the story of
Venuss birth doesnt stretch far from Aphrodites. Venus arose from the sea
foam after Saturn (Son of the sea god Caelus), castrated his father and threw
the remains in the sea. It is said that the blood then mixed with the sea
water and soon arose Venus.
Venus has been portrayed throughout many paintings and sculptures,
especially during the Renaissance period in Europe. The Birth of Venus by
Sandro Botticelli is one of these depictions that has gained a lot of attention
over the years. A large-scale canvas painted in the 1480s, this tempura
style painting brought a different aspect towards humanism which had
become rather popular during the 1480s. The nudity of Venus gave off a first
initial shock as it was rarely depicted throughout the Middle Ages, all artwork
within that time had been more focused on Christian pieces which involved
no nudity. Venuss nudity however helps tell her story and what it is she
stands for. Her sexuality is shown in her body, and by covering her genitalia,
she is keeping her modesty and innocence. Her nudity also expresses her
birth, even though she has been painted as a full grown adult, the nudity
brings her back to the purity of her birth as a child within the waters. Looking
more towards her birth from the seas foam, Venus hasnt been portrayed as
rising from foam at all, instead she is stood on an oversized shell which is
guiding her to the shore. This shell is a scallop shell, and traditionally it is
seen as the symbol of baptism in Christianity, it is also seen as being related
to fertility which is why I believe Botticelli has placed Venus on a scallop
shell, to resemble her fertility and purity of a woman. Venuss position on the
shell is important too, she has been placed on the very edge where logically
the shell would give way and fall forward, resulting in Venus falling off.
However, she is gracefully stood on the edge, interpreting her goddess title
and resembling Aphrodite statues which also poses in a leaning stance,
covering her modesty.
Venus is quite clearly the focal point of this painting, she is placed just right
of the center of the picture with everything and everyone around her falling
towards her direction without obscuring her image. To her left you have
Zephyr, God of the West wind, latched on to Zephyr is thought to be Chloris,
a nymph associated with spring flowers and new growth. Zephyr is
positioned on the left to represent his status of being God of the West wind,
he is seen to be blowing Venus to shore, guiding her with his gentle breeze.
Zephyrs blow of wind has quite a big effect on the whole painting, with its
prime meaning being to guide Venus, you can also see its power like a ripple

effect, blowing through Venuss hair and blowing the mantle that is in the
hands of the figure to the right of Venus. Myth has it that Zephyr abducted
Chloris and gave her the power of flowers, the thought that this is Chloris is
not only shown by her relationship with Zephyr, but also by the spring
flowers surrounding her. With Chloris being associated with spring flowers
and new growth, I believe this is why Botticelli painted her, to help form the
birth of Venus and emphasize her beauty and sexuality, and the elegance of
this event.
To the right of Venus, Botticelli has painted a female figure who is claimed to
be Pomona, the Goddess of Spring, fruit trees and orchards. Pomona is stood
on the edge of the land with a mantle in her hand trying to help Venus down
and cover her body.
There is a direction in the composition of this painting going from left to
right, even though our view is guided towards Venus herself, there is also a
rhythm of movement which falls from the top left to the bottom right. Zephyr
is positioned in the top-left holding Chloris and facing the bottom-right of the
picture. As well as Venuss hair being blown towards the right of the picture,
her stance is also leaning toward it too, her positioning has also got the
scallop shell to be leaning slightly to the right. Then you have Pomona and
the mantle she is holding, it seems as though she ran towards Venus, rushing
to welcome her. I am unsure as to whether the portrayal of Pomona and the
mantle she is holding, is in fact in result of Zephyrs blow of wind or if she
has indeed rushed to Venuss arrival. Even so, the painter has directed your
eyesight along this movement to help understand the story behind the
painting.
As for the space, each figure comes together like a triangle, I have created
the diagram below to help explain.

From point A to B, you have Zephyr and Chloris placed along the outside of
the line. Their bodies completely consume that corner of the painting, and
with their direction, they lead the viewers eyes up to point B. Point C to B is
on the right side and consists mostly of Pomona, even though her whole
body doesnt lean with the line, her foot start at point C and her arm points
up to point B, this again directs the viewer to point B. Along the line of point
A to C, you have the base of the picture, both points are leading you into the
center where you will find point D. From point A you have the waves directing
the viewer to point D, as well as point C where you can see a trail of water
directing you to point D. Now point D to B seems to be where the main part
of the painting is held, the whole line is engrossed by Venus herself. She is
what all of the points are leading us too, however I cannot help but feel more
drawn to the scallop shell than to Venus. There is more space around the
shell making it more comfortable for your sight to fall onto it, the higher you
move up the line from point D to B, it becomes more crowded in a way
around the top of Venus. The sea also creates a depth to the painting as you
look further into the background, the Vs that are used to depict the waves
begin to get smaller and smaller until you can no longer see them, this
invites the viewer to the actual size of the space that this painting is based
upon.
Now, even though the painting holds many different colors, they are all
based around a soft warm shade which helps emphasize its beauty and
grace. Botticelli has really focused on the contrast between what seems to
be the heavens and earth. From the left where Zephyr is placed, the waters
and sky are painted with a hint of white, this forms a kind of glow around the
knowing God, and as we move towards the land where in fact humans are
known to reside, the colors shades become darker and the sea water is
painted with a shade of green. The figures themselves are painted with a
sense of purity and godly like image. With the perfect complexions and
hardly any detail in their skin, you can see how Botticelli wanted to interpret
these people and try and paint them as the Gods and Goddesses that they
are.
Botticelli focused a lot on Venuss hair, with its bright prominent orange color
and its glowing attributes, the color stands out the most than any other in
the picture. Her body is painted so purely that it creates an idolized feeling
between the viewer and the figure. With using a light color for her skin,
Botticelli then outlined Venuss body with a black line to help distinguish her
figure in comparison to the background. Not only does it help with the
picture not merging, but it also creates a more angelic feel to her skin with
the contrast of the two colors. You can also see that Botticelli enjoys women
with orange colored hair, this is the color he has used with all three of the

female figures in this painting and he especially likes the long wavy style as
he has primarily focused on its perfection.
Overall, The Birth of Venus represents not only fertility, but also a more
supreme level of humanity and of infatuation. With its delicacy towards detail
and perfecting the view of the figures to emphasize the godly title they
behold, Botticelli has created a masterpiece of religious meaning and
symbolism.