The Mythological Subject’s Side of Art: “The Birth of Venus” by Sandro Botticelli

Have you ever wondered about the definition of art? There are multiple definitions of art. It could be something that could be put on a piece of paper and a frame around it, or it can be objected that many people never know about it. Art is another form of aspect that could bring out a multitude of thoughts, ideas, or analyses, desires, or beliefs of a human being. It can also bring different emotions to a human being that never experiences it before. It is important for us to recognize that art can not be bind or illegal, it is just another form of aspect in our lives. Art is everywhere around us, including in our daily lives so, therefore, it would be very difficult to exclude it. Art can be modern or old, there are no differences, but behind every painting or any object displayed, there should be an artist or an author behind to create it. Like the painting “The Birth of Venus” created in 1482 during the Renaissance period by a famous artist named Sandro Botticelli. The purpose of the painting “The Birth of Venus” by Sandro Botticelli is to show people the mythological subject’s side of art, and also art can be in many different subjects or categories.

Before we examine and analyze the painting, it is important to know about the artist’s history and the reasons why he created “The Birth of Venus”. The artist who created this painting is Sandro Botticelli. He is a famous Italian artist during the Renaissance period. He was born in 1445, in Florence Italy, and died on May 17, 1510, in Florence Italy. After Botticelli finished with his education, his father intended him to be a goldsmith, but Botticelli was into painting at that time. Because of that, his father put him under Filippo Lippi’s care. At that time, mythological paintings were getting more popular because it was a custom for marriage by those rich households at that time. The reason is that the mythological creature was considered to be representing love, truth, and wisdom back then. That is the reason why Botticelli created the painting “The Birth of Venus”.

According to Le Gallarie Delgi Uffizi, the painting “Birth of Venus” is based on the goddess back during the Renaissance period. Originally, the painting was commissioned by a rich household, and because many people admired in gods and goddesses at that time, so Botticelli took that opportunity and created the painting. “The Birth of Venus” is an oil painting about a goddess named Venus, but most people know her as Aphrodite. She is the goddess of love and beauty. Because there were a lot of marriages back then, and also she was the symbol for love, she became very famous during the marriage ceremonies. In the painting, she is standing in the middle and also naked, on top of that, she is standing on a seashell. The reason why she is in the middle of the painting is because Botticelli wanted Venus to draw all the attention on her so that the audience could know she is the main point in the painting. According to Italian Renaissance Art, the reason why Botticelli drew her standing on top of a seashell was that many people believed that she was born from a seafoam, but later on she came onto the shore by a seashell. In the painting, Venus’s hair is another detail that was created by Botticelli, he intentionally created a sense of motion with the hair. He divided her hair into three sections: top, middle, and bottom. The most interesting thing about the hair is that because he divided into three sections and add in curvy movements to the hair, he was able to create a movement as if her hair is being blown gently by the wind. In the painting, Venus’s hair is orange and yellow. This is another good technique that Botticelli used to help him grab the audience’s attention to Venus. Additionally in the picture, Venus is looking down toward the left corner of the painting. Because of that, it helps Venus’s expression is look calm and also creating a gentle impression on the audience. The background of this painting is a light blue color to represent the ocean, and there are two reasons why Botticelli chose that color as the background. The first reason is that it corresponds with the history of Venus, she was born from a sea shell, which means she was from the ocean. The next reason is that Botticelli wanted the background to blend in with the characters in the painting, he did not want the audience to look at the background instead of the characters in the painting, and also because of Venus’s hair is already full of bright colors. Therefore, Botticelli chose a light color background so that there would be enough balance between the bright and dark colors that he used. “The Birth of Venus” is composed of shapes because it is a two-dimensional type of drawing. For example, Venus’s hair is made from the shifting of the background and the color of her upper body so that it could outline her hair in different places. Therefore, giving form and shape to Venus’s hair.

Another thing about the painting made by Botticelli is the colors of the painting including the background and Venus. He did an excellent job of combining colors, and because of that, it created unity and variety to the painting. An example is when he used light blue for most of the background color to create unity and a soft look for the painting. However, the contrast between the bright and dark colors that he used in the painting created variety. An example is the flowers that are blowing toward Venus, it creates variety because it is not a part of Venus, but it makes the audience wonder about its purposes. In this painting, there is not very much light, but because of the bright colors that Boticelli used in his painting, it made up the light source for the painting. An example of this would be her face, it is light yellow along with the pink cheeks on her face made her face brighter. Botticelli also used warm colors for her hair and also for the trees in the top right corner of the painting, because of that, he created a contrast between Venus, the trees, and the ocean in the background. Furthermore, it made Venus more delicate.

Along with Venus being the main point of the painting, Botticelli also drew three more characters besides Venus. Based on Edie Wilson from art-id-Florence, the character on the left is Zephyrus, the god of the West wind, and the one waiting for Venus is Pomona, the god of spring. In the picture, he is blowing Venus towards the shore, where Pomona is waiting for her. An interesting thing about them is that, unlike Venus, Botticelli drew them with warm or dark colors even though they are also characters just like Venus. The reason is that it is mainly a painting about Venus, Botticelli did not want background colors or side characters to stand out more than her, and he also wanted the audience to mostly look at Venus. In addition to that, the color that Botticelli chose for Venus’s body is white, which represents purity.

In summary, through the painting “The Birth of Venus” by Sando Botticelli, it shows us many different meanings or ideas that the painter trying to show us. It brings different connections and points of view to the audience. Because of this picture, art can be symbolized in many different forms or categories. In addition to that, art can also be about expressions of human creative skill, just like in “The Birth of Venus”. Botticelli took people’s beliefs and turn it into the most famous painting of that era. In the end, art can be anything as long as people can turn it into something meaningful.