Description - The Birth of Venus (1485 ca.), Sandro Botticelli, 1485, 172.5 cm x 278.5 cm, the Uffizi Museum, Florence, Italy.
By Sibel İrem Arslan & Şevval İzgüt
Having made Botticelli’s name immortal in the history of art, The Birth of Venus is considered as one of the pioneering artworks of the Italian Renaissance. Today, we will try to bring a fresh perspective to you dear readers by analysing the Birth of Venus in terms of its place in mythology and principles of design.
On the one hand, it can be stated that the Birth of Venus represents an important place in mythology. Venus also played important role in Italy because, in reality, she was the deity of gardens and fields as we can also see from the painting. Due to Aenas' withdrawal from Trojan War, Venus has a very crucial place in Roman mythology. There are two different stories about how Venus was born. Yet, the most popular story is the one she born from a seafoam formed by throwing Uranus's severed genitals into the sea. However, Renaissance is considered as the age of human beings which means that everything created in a human-centred way. Of course, depicting gods and goddesses as human forms were popular even in Ancient Greek and Roman mythology because they realised human's ability to create something. When it comes to Renaissance this depiction has gained another type of angle. In the painting, Venus described not as an ancient woman actually, but as a renaissance woman with her pale skin and golden hair which Zephyr is gliding through her hair.
On the other hand, the Birth of Venus can be analysed regarding principles of design such as balance, contrast, emphasis, hierarchy, harmony, unity, movement, proportion, scale, repetition, rhythm, pattern, and variety.
Firstly, we can state that the warm, pastel and slightly hazy tones create a great balance in the painting. For instance, the sea, which should normally be depicted in dark and cold tones, is depicted here with a slightly misty green that integrates with the background towards the end while it is depicted with a warmer green to integrate with other pastel and warm tones in the foreground. As another example, it can be said that Venus' striking reddish hair creates a balance by adding warmth to her pale body. At the same time, the endless sea adds a sense of depth to the painting while the landmass or figures close to the painting seen in the back of the picture are placed in a way that emphasizes a certain distance between them, which increases the depth of the picture. Also, although the horizontal lines of the sea and the landmass in the picture are unobtrusive, they show that there is a balance around Venus, while the vertical line of the trees and their angle to the sea is one of the elements that add balance and reality to the painting. Besides, the vertical lines of the cloth and seashell on the right and the wind and flowers on the left moving obliquely towards Venus indicate an asymmetrical balance around Venus in the painting. Although Venus' body, especially her long neck and left arm, is anatomically asymmetrical, this asymmetry did not disturb the golden ratio in the picture and did not harm the balance. The silky texture of the dresses and cloth and the dimensions of the figures have been successfully depicted, increasing the balance and depth. In conclusion, all these factors create an asymmetrical balance in the painting.
Secondly, when it comes to the contrast in the painting, it is seen that the slightly blurry colours of the sea and the landmass in the background create a colour tone contrast with the warm pastel tones in the foreground while these colours in the background and foreground create a contrast with the pale and white body of Venus, which draws the most attention in the painting, symbolizes innocence. At the same time, the fact that Zephyr on the left and Aura in his lap stand opposite the Hora of Spring on the right and centre Venus points out the directional opposition of the right and left figures. The purpose of these contrasts is to draw the attention to the goddess standing in the middle, slightly shaded to the left, and to emphasize her as the focal point, while the colours of the space in the background create a harmonious unity with each other and contrast with the colours of the foreground or create a contrast with the directions. For example, the blue outfit of the wind god Zephyr on the left shows a colour tone contrast with the goddess's reddish-orange hair. It can even be said that the movements of the sea, the sky and the trees in the background are more static and calmer than the foreground, and the movements of the wind, of the clothes, the flowers and the veil are drawn to turn our focus towards the position of the goddess.
Thirdly, thanks to the background colours contrasting with the pale body of the goddess, the other three figures moving towards the goddess, and the goddess standing in the middle, the emphasis and hierarchy are drawn to the body and beautiful face of Venus, and sacred love for innocence is indicated.
To show harmony and unity, which is the fourth criterion, in the painting, the movement of the forms, that is, the characters, towards the goddess, the contrast and harmony of colours, the shapes such as clothes and flowers standing towards the goddess are used, and each element in the painting integrated with each other and emphasized her in a way that is more unobtrusive than the goddess.
Fifthly, to indicate that there is movement in the painting, the waves undulating one after the other, the seashell slightly tilted by the hitting of the waves, and the flowers have blown towards the goddess are used. In addition, the movement of the clothes of Zephyr, the god that blows wind towards Venus, and Aura, who is also called Chloris, as well as the movement of the hair of Venus, and Flora trying to cover it with a silk flowered veil, which indicates that it is the Hora of Spring increase the depth of the picture, add movement to it and draw us into the picture as if we were feeling the wind. As the movements of all the components in the painting are depicted so successfully, Botticelli gave us the feeling of observing a moment before the Zephyr and Aura fly to Venus while the Hora of Spring tries to cover it and Venus stands there in all her innocence.
Proportion and scale, which are the sixth criteria, are given a separate place in this artwork and even the golden ratio is used. While the red line forming the golden ratio in the painting is from the hair of the goddess to the tip of her feet, the green line continues from the hairline to the top of her feet. Moreover, the blue line continues from the middle of her feet to the top of her head, regardless of her wavy hair. Furthermore, in the painting, the scale is as successful as the proportion, and it can be said that while the size of the goddess is well balanced with the size of the other three figures, the proportion and scale of the foreground to the background is also smooth and does not disturb the eyes.
In the seventh criteria, repetition, rhythm, and pattern, we can say that the waves catch a rhythm by repeating one after the other and create a sense of movement, enabling the viewers to direct their eyes towards the seashell and the goddess. Additionally, the flower motifs on the dress and cloth of the Spring Hora also create a pattern by repeating and the movements of these textures again point to the goddess.
Finally, it can be said that since the painting contains a lot of elements in terms of visual design principles, there is a wide range of variety. Moreover, the use of colours and directions, in contrast, the use of the direction and movements of the figures and the contrast of colours in emphasis, and the use of figures, clothes, waves, wind, and flowers in the movement increase the variety in the Birth of Venus. Thus, the painting has gotten rid of the monotony, become rich, supported Botticelli's style, drawn attention to both the work and the artist, and such a successful and timeless masterpiece has been brought to art.
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