The Birth of Venus

The birth of Venus is a painting by Sandro Botticelli

This famous artwork hangs in the Uffizi gallery in Florence.

This large picture by Botticelli was, like the "Allegory of Spring" painted for Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco's Villa di Castello, around 1483, or even before. Many experts believe it to be a celebration of the love of Giuliano de' Medici (who died in the Pazzi conspiracy in 1478) for Simonetta Cattaneo Vespucci, who lived in Portovenere, a place by the sea. Whatever inspired the artist, there are clear similarities to Ovid's "Metamorphosis" and "Fasti", as well as to Poliziano's "Verses".

The classical Goddess Venus is emerging from the water on a shell, held up by the Zephyrs, symbols of spiritual passions, and with one of the Ores, goddesses of the seasons, who is handing her a flowered cloak. The naked goddess isn't then a symbol of earthly but of spiritual love, like an ancient marble statue (which might have inspired the eighteenth century sculptor, Antonio Canova, by its candor), slim and long-limbed, with harmonious features.