The Birth of Venus

      So, I finally chose The Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli for this project. I did a little research of the painting, try to understand its context and background.

      The Birth of Venus was painted as a gift for the young prince Lorenzo de' Medici and it was once hung in his summer villa. The painting has lack concern with the idea of deep space. It can be observed from both the sea and land, the waves was painted like water fall, and the land, even it was constructed with multiple layer but it still look flat and less solid. The grove at the right, represent noting but only a ornamental screen. The bodies of the figures were elongated and also seem to float even the legs touch the ground.

      It is believed that the figure of Venus derived from variant of Knidian Aphrodite by Praxiteles and the painting is inspired by Homeric "Hymn to Aphrodite". However, there were no literary source to prove this.

Knidian Aphrodite by Praxiteles

            Neoplatonists belived that the celestial Venus (nude Venus born from the sea) was the source of divine love, the recognition of divine beauty. Marsilio Ficino, who was a priest and also neoplatonists, wrote a letter to the Medici prince about praise to the Venus.