One cannot describe the “rebirth” of lifelike art without first describing its predecessor, therefore to understand the full glory of the Renaissance, a short explanation of the Middle Ages is needed.

During the Middle Ages, art had strayed from elaborate depictions of great mythological stories and beautiful scenes from the bible, to images of humans as corrupt beings and scenes of judgment and salvation from the bible. It was not permitted to paint nudes during this period; moreover the clothed figures were done with blatant ignorance to anatomy. Art during this period was used as an aid to the church; therefore whatever was boorish or sacrilegious was destroyed. A change came from Italy in the mid 1400s when Masaccio burst onto the scene embodying all the qualities that make the Renaissance the rebirth and rediscovery of Greco-Roman art and literature. However the Renaissance did more than rediscover Greco-Roman technique, it surpassed it due to advances in science and technology, specifically pertaining to anatomy and perspective. As time passed this artistic movement spread across Italy to Venice and Rome, and by the Sixteenth century the rest of Europe. A short period kn

By taking a closer look at the piece it is noticed in the upper left corner two winds. They are called Zephyr and Chloris and they are flying with limbs inter-tangled puffing and gently wafting Venus to shore. To the right we observe some kind of Nymph, known as one the “three hours”, Greek goddesses of the seasons. She is waiting on the shore to cloak Venus in a beautifully embroidered robe. In the center Botticelli portrays Venus in the very first suggestion of action, with a complex and beautiful series of twists and turns, as she is about to step off her giant gilded scallop shell onto the shore. Simply as a side note: Venus was conceived when the Titan Cronus castrated his father, the god Uranus, the severed genitals falling into the sea and fertilizing it. What we see here is not actually the birth of Venus out of the waves, but the moment when, having been conveyed by the shell, she lands.

The patron who commissioned the Botticelli painting for his country villa was a member of the rich and powerful family of the Medici. Either he himself, or one of his learned friends, probably explained to the painter what was known of the way the ancients had represented Venus coming forth from the sea. To these scholars the story of her birth was the symbol of mystery through which the divine message of beauty came into the world. We see that Venus has emerged from the sea on a shell, which is driven to the shore by flying wind-gods amidst a shower of roses. As she is about to step on to the land, a personification of spring receives her with a purple cloak. Botticelli's Venus is said to be one of the most beautiful painted figures, even though she has an unnaturally long neck and steep shoulders. He painted onto canvas, which was less expensive and is known to have been the preferred material for the painting of non-religious and pagan subjects that were sometimes commissioned to decorate summer cottages in 15th-century Italy.

Part of the Renaissance coincided with Lorenzo de’ Medici’s reign, which was a golden age for men of genius; one who flourished was Sandro Botticelli. Botticelli was the son of Mariano Filipepi, a citizen of Florence, who brought him up with care, teaching him everything, as to keep him well rounded. Although Sandro quickly mastered anything that he liked, he was always restless and could not settle down at school. His father put him with a goldsmith who was a very reputable master of the trade. Very close and friendly relations between the goldsmiths and the painters existed in that time, so that Sand

Some topics in this essay:
Late Renaissance, Sixtus IV, Middle Ages, Greeks Romans, Titan Cronus, Jesus Christ, Zephyr Chloris, Mariano Filipepi, Botticelli's Venus, Sandro Botticelli, sandro botticelli, oil based paints, sixteenth century, birth venus, light shadows, due poor, middle ages, lifelike art, piece noticed, coming forth, based paints,