Art

Critical Analysis on an Art Work Around the time period 1485 to 87, the famous artist Sandro Botticelli created a painting which was later on considered a master piece among his creations- The Birth of Venus. This painting actually portrays the goddess Aphrodite or Venus as well known in Greek mythology. The subject matter of the painting is the birth of goddess Venus. In this painting Aphrodite emerges upon a shell from the sea as a fully grown-up woman in accordance with Greek mythology which justifies her birth in the same manner. The focal point of the painting is the goddess Venus portrayed in her ideal Renaissance form- pale skinned and red haired. Botticelli has highlighted Venus with an accessory of gold leaf in her hair. He further stressed upon the femininity of Venus by emphasizing the curves of her body. The painting is richly filled with soothing and light colours with luxurious scenery in the background. The rich garden, floating flowers around the nude and the gorgeous and stunning draperies of nymph all add beauty in the painting which further add pleasure to viewers. Here it is interesting to note that the work of Brotticelli never committed fully to naturalism when compared to the works of contemporary artists like Domenico Ghirlandaio. He seldom offered weight to the figures he shows in his paintings. In the above discussed painting- The Birth of Venus, the body of the goddess Venus is anatomically implausible. The figure is portraying with elongated torso and neck which are incredible for a natural figure. Similarly; her pose in the painting is also improbable: although Brotticelli has depicted her figure stands in classical Renaissance style, however, the figure has shifted all her maximum weight over left leg which is too much to be posed like the one Brotticelli has portrayed. Furthermore, the positioning of the figure Venus at the brink of the shell cannot be recognized as real. Last but not the least; the figures have no shadows formed in the painting and this clearly shows the fantasize imagination of Brotticelli far from reality and naturalism. In this painting, the artist gave a different sense to his viewers. This painting shows another side of realism. While the subject matter was the same as used in north Renaissance at that time- the subject of Humanism which was the part of most of the paintings at that time but Brotticelli gave a bit different approach. He has portrayed the images of humans but they are considerably more stylized showing more perfect for the nature- super human characters. The work is well organized filled with various human figures like the Venus and Zephyron. Basically, this painting emphasized the story of Greek mythology as how the goddess Venus gave birth from sea. All the characters are playing their role in the painting. Venus is born from a shell on the sea. In the painting Zephyron can be seen on the left side blowing Venus to the shore. The artist beautifully portrayed the figure of Venus who is standing nude on a sea shell in a very modest posing. He further adds grace and beauty in the figure of goddess Venus by posing her in a leaning position on one of her hip. Again, it can be seen that the artist has added beauty and pleasure in his painting by depicting the character of Venus more modest and graceful. Venus is showing to cover her breasts and genitals with her hand which adds an attraction towards sexuality. As far as the main composition of the painting is concerned, it can be seen that Venus is the most important figure in the whole painting. This figure is shown in the mid of the painting. It is also a fact that the figure is not very large when compared to other figures present in the picture but the placement of Venus in the centre of the painting gives it unique position. Moreover, the shell below her feet also draws the attention of the viewers. It is in the form of large mass upon which the goddess Venus is emerging. Here it can also be noticed that the background of the painting is not so much emphasized when compared to the figures available in the painting. The trees and beach are hardly noticed objects. The artist has portrayed the figures in a more attractive manner as compared to the objects in the background. This shows that the images are being more stylized than natural. Finally, in my opinion, the overall theme of the painting was incredible as it really make me feel good. The goddess Venus is depicted with such grace, elegance and perfection that it gives a sense of divine love. Her body language and facial expressions show perfection to the viewers and these are much stylized and modest to attract the viewers as well. With the help of her flowing hair and hiding parts, the figure becomes modest and more attractive in a real sense. Moreover, an interesting aspect of the whole painting is the use of mythological figures that offer the viewers the aspiration for perfection and move them away from complete naturalism. References 1. Thoresor, 2012. Analysis of the Birth of Venus. [Online] Available at: