HUM 225 Week 6

Being the good student that I am, I was reviewing my notes when I saw that I underlined the title of Sandro Botticelli’s painting The Birth of Venus. Even though I probably just underlined it due to me liking the painting, I decided to do my art blog on it. The Birth of Venus is located in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy. It was made in 1485 and is 67 7/8 by 109 5/8 inches and is on tempera on canvas.

The painting the Birth of Venus was constructed with the thoughts of the Greek myth Aphrodite in mind. Aphrodite, or Venus, which is her Roman name, was born when the titan Chronos, meaning ‘the time’, castrated his father Uranus. Uranus’ severed genitals fell into the sea where they were fertilized, causing the birth of Venus. She was born from the foam and by a giant cockle that was taken ashore at Paphos on Cyprus in the Eastern Mediterranean. The Birth of Venus, clearly, portrays Aphrodite being born, but Botticelli adds a bit of his own touch to the myth that goes along with the story, such as her being shown on a huge shell. As the myth does say that she arrived on a cockle, or clam/shell, the one in the myth is much smaller than the one revealed in the work of art.