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| The Birth of Venus | |
|---|---|
| French:La Naissance de Vénus | |
_-_The_Birth_of_Venus_(1879).jpg) | |
| Artist | William-Adolphe Bouguereau |
| Year | 1879 (1879) |
| Medium | oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 300 cm × 218 cm (120 in × 86 in) |
| Location | Musée d'Orsay,Paris |
The Birth of Venus (French:La Naissance de Vénus) is one of the most famous paintings by 19th-centurypainterWilliam-Adolphe Bouguereau. It depicts not the actual birth ofVenus from the sea, but her transportation in a shell as a fully mature woman from the sea toPaphos inCyprus. She is considered the epitome of the Classical Greek and Roman ideal of the female form and beauty, on par withVenus de Milo.
For Bouguereau, it is considered atour de force. The canvas stands at just over 300 centimetres (9 feet 10 inches) high, and 218 cm (7 ft 2 in) wide. The subject matter, as well as the composition, resembles a previous rendition of this subject,Sandro Botticelli'sThe Birth of Venus, as well asRaphael'sThe Triumph of Galatea.
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At the center of the painting,Venus stands nude on ascallop shell[1] being pulled by adolphin, one of her symbols. Fifteenputti, includingCupid and his loverPsyche, and severalnymphs andcentaurs have gathered to witness Venus' arrival. Most of the figures are gazing at her, and two of the centaurs are blowing intoconch and Triton shells, signaling her arrival.
Venus is considered to be the embodiment of femininebeauty andform, and these traits are shown in the painting.[1] Her head is tilted to one side, and her facial expression reflects that she is calm and comfortable with her nudity. She raises her arms,[2] arranging her thigh-length, brown hair, swaying elegantly in an "S" curvecontrapposto, emphasizing the curves of her body.[3]
Venus' figure was enlarged from a nymph from Bouguereau'sThe Nymphaeum, completed in 1878, a year earlier.[3] The nymph is slightly thinner, and her breasts are fuller and more rounded. Venus' contrapposto is more intense, and her hair is also longer and lighter than the nymph's, but she arranges it almost identically.
To the uppеr-left of the painting, there is a shadow in the clouds. It appears to be the silhouette of the artist, with a head, shoulder, arm, and a raised fist that would seem to hold a paintbrush.[1]
Media related toThe Birth of Venus at Wikimedia Commons
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