Botticelli's "Birth of Venus"

Sandro Botticelli's Birth of Venus
Picture taken by Professor S. Haynes

Sandro Botticelli's Birth of Venus was inspired by a Greek myth in Angelo Poliziano's poem. In the painting, Venus is born of sea foam and standing on a cockle shell. Zhephyrus, god of the west wind, carries goddess Chloris and blows Venus to Cyprus, her sacred island. On Cyprus, the nymph Pomona meets Venus with a brocaded mantle. Nude figures were extremely rare in the Middle Ages, but the nude depiction of Venus was accepted in the more accommodating culture of the Renaissance, especially under the protection of the Medici. Birth of Venus also has Neo-Platonic interpretations as an allegory of divine love. Neo-Platonism attempted to reconcile pagan ideas with Christian beliefs. Marsilio Ficino, an influential humanist philosopher during the Renaissance, explained that when humans see physical beauty, they will reflect on spiritual and divine beauty. Unlike the advances in perspective demonstrated by many Renaissance painters, Birth of Venus has a flat background. Botticelli's linear style emphasizes his interest in two-dimensional images.