Botticelli - The Birth of Venus Brown

Sandro Botticelli (1445-1510) is one of the most important artists of the Italian Renaissance. "The Birth of Venus" was revolutionary at the time, because it presented a nude body without any religious justification, as well as a mythological theme from Greco-Roman culture prior to Christianity. The scene depicts Zephyr, the gentle wind of spring, carrying in his arms his wife Flora, the goddess of flowers and gardens. Venus emerges from the water, standing in a giant scallop shell placed on the waves agitated by Zephyr's breath. Her posture is in "contrapposto", a pose typical of ancient Greek statues: her hips are in a direction opposite to her shoulders, which highlights her slender and graceful silhouette. On the right, she is received by one of the Hours, daughter of Zeus and Themis or the goddess of spring, trying to cover her with a red veil dotted with floral motifs. Painted around 1484-1485, the painting has been kept in the Uffizi Gallery since 1815.