GALLERY

WATCH

Description- This piece of artwork has many items within it. There is a naked woman covering herself with long flowing hair who is standing in a shell. The shell she is in resides in the sea while a man with wings carries a woman near the shell. On the other side of the woman, a redheaded woman is trying to cover the naked woman with a blanket. There are trees in the background as well as the ocean, and birds.

Analysis Of Elements Of Art

- Line is shown in this painting by the horizontal horizon line behind the woman. It creates the illusion of depth.

- Form is used to make all of the people appear 3D instead of just flat. It also makes the people in the front appear bigger than the figures, such as the boat, in the back.

- Value is used to create shadows from the people and shell. The closer the area is around the object, the darker it is. It fades, and the color gets lighter as it get farther from the object.

Analysis Of Principles Of Design

- Proportion is created by how the artist makes the size of all the figures in the front them same size, and all of the ones in the back the same size so that they are proportional to eachother. The figurers in the front are bigger than those in the background.

- The artists emphasizes the naked woman in the shell by putting her in the middle of the painting, and having people surround her. This creates emphasis.

Interpretation- The color value in this painting is mainly light with darker colors mostly for shadows. This shows that this is a happy occasion by their use of cool colors instead of warm colors which would give off a harsher feeling. It also looks like she is coming out of the shell. The Greeks and Romans showed beauty through the naked body, so this woman must be truly beautiful. The light hues of the sea represent the peacefulness of the situation, which is the birth of  Venus who is the naked woman. Power is shown in the confidence that she arises with. 

Judgement- I really liked evaluating this painting because I am very involved with the subject of mythology, especially Greek and Roman art. It is also very different from my other slides because it is not a sculpture. That gave me more principles and elements to be able to evaluate, so I can understand the deeper meaning better. The deeper meaning is that true beauty comes from within just like the beautiful Venus came from the peaceful sea within the shell. It also shows that beauty is power  which is shown in the way that the people are following her.

Artist- Sandro Botticelli

Date- 1486

Medium- tempera on canvas

Province- Uffizi, Florence

Source-  www.mythencyclopedia.com/Tr-Wa/Venus.html.

The Birth Of Venus