''The Birth of Venus'' (french: La Naissance de Vénus) is one of the most famous paintings by 19th-century

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

William-Adolphe Bouguereau. It depicts not the actual birth of

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never fa ...

from the sea, but her transportation in a shell as a fully mature woman from the sea to

Paphos Paphos ( el, Πάφος ; tr, Baf) is a coastal city in southwest Cyprus and the capital of Paphos District. In classical antiquity, two locations were called Paphos: Old Paphos, today known as Kouklia, and New Paphos. The current city of Pap ...

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

. She is considered the epitome of the Classical Greek and Roman ideal of the female form and beauty, on par with '' Venus de Milo''. For Bouguereau, it is considered a ''tour de force''. The canvas stands at just over high, and wide. The subject matter, as well as the composition, resembles a previous rendition of this subject, Sandro Botticelli's '' The Birth of Venus'', as well as

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of works by Raphael, His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of ...

's '' The Triumph of Galatea''.

Description

William-Adolphe Bouguereau - The Nymphaeum - 1878 (detail)

At the center of the painting,

stands nude on a

scallop Scallop () is a common name that encompasses various species of marine bivalve mollusks in the taxonomic family Pectinidae, the scallops. However, the common name "scallop" is also sometimes applied to species in other closely related families ...

shell being pulled by a

dolphin A dolphin is an aquatic mammal within the infraorder Cetacea. Dolphin species belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontoporiidae (the ...

, one of her symbols. Fifteen

putti A putto (; plural putti ) is a figure in a work of art depicted as a chubby male child, usually naked and sometimes winged. Originally limited to profane passions in symbolism,Dempsey, Charles. ''Inventing the Renaissance Putto''. University of ...

, including

Cupid In classical mythology, Cupid (Latin Cupīdō , meaning "passionate desire") is the god of desire, lust, erotic love, attraction and affection. He is often portrayed as the son of the love goddess Venus (mythology), Venus and the god of war Mar ...

and his lover Psyche, and several

nymph A nymph ( grc, νύμφη, nýmphē, el, script=Latn, nímfi, label=Modern Greek; , ) in ancient Greek folklore is a minor female nature deity. Different from Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature, are ty ...

s and

centaur A centaur ( ; grc, κένταυρος, kéntauros; ), or occasionally hippocentaur, is a creature from Greek mythology with the upper body of a human and the lower body and legs of a horse. Centaurs are thought of in many Greek myths as being ...

s have gathered to witness Venus' arrival. Most of the figures are gazing at her, and two of the centaurs are blowing into

conch Conch () is a common name of a number of different medium-to-large-sized sea snails. Conch shells typically have a high spire and a noticeable siphonal canal (in other words, the shell comes to a noticeable point at both ends). In North Am ...

and Triton shells, signaling her arrival. Venus is considered to be the embodiment of feminine beauty and

form Form is the shape, visual appearance, or configuration of an object. In a wider sense, the form is the way something happens. Form also refers to: *Form (document), a document (printed or electronic) with spaces in which to write or enter data ...

, and these traits are shown in the painting. Her head is tilted to one side, and her facial expression reflects that she is calm and comfortable with her nudity. She raises her arms,Similar to Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres' ''Venus Anadyomène''. arranging her thigh-length, brown hair, swaying elegantly in an "S" curve contrapposto, emphasizing the curves of her body. Venus' figure was enlarged from a nymph from Bouguereau's ''The Nymphaeum'', completed in 1878, a year earlier. The nymph is slightly thinner, and her breasts are fuller and more rounded. Venus' contrapposto is more intense, and her hair is also longer and lighter than the nymph's, but she arranges it almost identically. To the uppеr-left of the painting, there is a shadow in the clouds. It appears to be the silhouette of the artist, with a head, shoulder, arm, and a raised fist that would seem to hold a paintbrush.

References

External links

YouTube video highlighting the painting
{{DEFAULTSORT:Birth of Venus (Bouguereau), The Paintings in the collection of the Musée d'Orsay Venus Anadyomenes Mythological paintings by William-Adolphe Bouguereau Paintings of Venus Nude art 1879 paintings Paintings of children Paintings of Cupid Water in art Seashells in art Dolphins in art