Botticelli and The Birth of Venus
Read about the career of Italian artist Sandro Botticelli.
The
Birth of Venus by
Sandro Botticelli remains one of the most memorable and recognisable paintings from the entire history of European art and is also a major spearhead illustrating the qualities to be found in the Renaissance period which began in Italy,
where indeed Botticelli was from. This article examines the key elements of this painting as well as another classic from the artist, namely Primavera which followed a relatively similar approach.
From an illustrious career stretching several decades, the finest contributions from Botticelli to the Renaissance art movement were the likes of Scenes from the Life of Moses, Primavera, Adoration Of The Magi, Madonna And Child And Two Angels, Mystic Nativity and The Virgin And Child With Two Angels.
Sandro Botticelli was well known for his use of colour in a bolder way that had really been seen much before and also his works were impressively vibrant in detail as well, with a real interest from the artist in portraying mythical and symbolic scenes which he gained great inspiration from in his work and this passion helped to keep standards high. Venus was to represent so much as a godess and made a perfect choice for this artist whilst others at that time would go for entirely religious topics throughout their whole careers, partly driven by the importance of religion with in society at that time.
Italian art from that period is probably the most important of all to have come from Europe since the Middle Ages and it is such an honour to Botticelli that he is still considered one of the four or five most significant contributors to this key era which brought about significant changes to the direction of art with many advancements. Botticelli was just one of several painters who brought about new innovations, being joined by the likes of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo who also exceeded with sculpture and inventions which remain much loved today.
You should really examine the key works from Botticelli at your next available opportunity as there really is so much to see and the highlights go well beyond just the two most notable of his paintings of The Birth of Venus and Primavera. There is also a growing interest in copies of his paintings as prints, posters or in fact stretched canvases which all suit different tastes and styles of homes, so perhaps that may interest you to as it is not easy to get to view the original works with your own eyes unless you live in Italy.