Kim, 1

Jun Seo Kim

November 2nd, 2022

Art History 203

Section AB

Historical & Sociocultural Context of Titian’s Venus of Urbino

Titian’s Venus of Urbino was purchased by Guidobaldo della Rovere who was a duke

of Urbino in 1538. It is not clear if Guidobaldo della Rovere actually commissioned the

artwork. The compositions of Venus of Urbino had similar elements from earlier works.

However, there are points from the artwork that disagree with classical Venus. The female’s

pose derives from the pose of the ancient Venus Pudica, however, unlike the classical

goddess, the female would not conceal her breasts but rather poses as if she tries to show

them. Also, the way she glances at the audience was unique and surprising at the time.

During the time, there were only a few artists that would depict women, especially

nude, directly beholding at the audience. In the time of the Renaissance, when a male artist

shows a female subject in his artwork, usually the artist debases the female. There were

numerous examples of such misogyny during the time. However, Titian’s work such as

Venus of Urbino was not one of the misogynistic artworks; Titian’s works are considered

erotic not pornographic. Titian had a style in which he did not get very tied to ancient and

classical sources. Titian’s style of painting was clearly depicted in Venus of Urbino by

having it drawn with its distinct and unique elements. Thus, this paper discusses the

importance of historical and sociocultural context of the Venus of Urbino in order to

understand the painting.

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The historical background helps to understand what Titian might have implied

through nudity of Venus of Urbino. The painting does not have any subtext that would

provide an explanation to the painting thus leaving it open to interpretations by observer. In

terms of nudity in painting, the first ever art to show nudity was story that depicted Adam and

Eve. Adam and Eve realised they were nude after eating the apple and seeing how their

perspectives diverged. In striking opposition to the biblical story, Robetta's depiction of

Adam and Eve exemplifies a new iconography that gained popularity in the fifteenth

century1. According to the Bible, being completely nude is only acceptable in a pre-

apocalyptic setting. When guilt enters the Garden of Eden, it necessitates covering up2. While

depictions of Adam and Eve before and after eating from the Tree of Knowledge often show

them entirely nude, when depicting their departure from the Garden of Eden, they should be

represented simply covered or at least with genital protection. 

The concept of "nakedness" is entirely subjective to changing times in history such as

in Renaissance times the concept of naked became a concept of shame. Furthermore, women

were held accountable for male aggression and punished by being forced into subservience.

When it comes to women, men play the role of God on Earth3. Scene after scene, like a comic

strip, mediaeval stories were widely shown in art. During the Renaissance, artists stopped

showing the progression of events and instead focused on depicting a single shameful

moment4. They cover their hands with fig leaves or make an impolite gesture. The audience is

now the object of their collective humiliation rather than each other. As the practise of

painting became more universal, naked figures could be shown in a variety of contexts. But

in each of them, the idea persists that the protagonist, a woman, is conscious of being seen.

1
Burke, Jill. "Nakedness and other peoples: Rethinking the italian renaissance nude." Art History 36, no. 4
(2013): 6.
2
Ibid., 7.
3
John Berger. “Chapter 3” in Ways of Seeing. Pelican Original. London: New York: British Broadcasting;
Penguin Books, (1977). 48.
4
Ibid., 49.
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Similarly, Titian’s Venus can also be seen hiding her nudity as she uses her hand to cover her

under pelvis area. Through this, the element of “shame” in the Renaissance nude paintings is

evident in Titian’s Venus of Urbino as well.

In European art, nudity and naked has different meaning as being naked simply means

not having clothes on whereas nudity is a form of art. Accoridng to Kenneth Clark, paintings

do not begin with a nude, but rather, the nude is the result of the artist's efforts. This is

accurate to some extent, yet it's important to remember that the concept of "a nude" is not

limited to visual art alone; there are also images of nude bodies and even motions that imply

nudity5. The truth is that the nude has always been standardised, with a particular artistic

tradition providing the authority for its norms. To be nude is to be naked in the eyes of others,

but the beholder will not know and recognise their authentic self. To become nude, one must

first see one's naked body as an object. Nakedness can reveal itself without further

explanation needed. However, nude is shown as display for people. Being on display is like

having the hairs on your own body and the surface of your skin transformed into a disguise

that you can never take off6. The nude is bound to an eternity of clothing. Nudity is a style of

clothing and wearing one's skin as a dress. Thus, Titian’s Venus is nude in his painting but in

essence she is wearing her body and skin as the garment and dressing. Her eyes, hands,

posture and laying on bed are all art and have a meaning instead of being merely naked

without clothes.

However, it is important to highlight that nudity in Renaissance art did not carry a

negative connotation. Such awareness of nudity and other elements of the painting in the

historical context are important to understand in order to analyse the painting of Titian. The

5
John Berger. “Chapter 3” in Ways of Seeing. Pelican Original. London: New York: British Broadcasting;
Penguin Books, (1977). 53.
6
Ibid., 54.
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artwork of the time reflects the era's deep interest in human uniqueness; after all, man is both

a part of nature and the culmination of God's creative achievements, having been fashioned in

God's own image and likeness7. Consequently, it should come as no surprise that the finest

painters of the Renaissance were captivated by not just a portrait, but by the human body in

its whole. Portraits, either idealised or realistic, are analysed by the painters, and the results

frequently reveal remarkable introspection. Likewise, they carefully watch and analyse a

human body in action or at rest. Naked human bodies, particularly female nudes, were a

prominent topic in Renaissance art8. However, in the Renaissance, being nude did not have a

social stigma or negative idea attached to it. Sometimes the qualities of truth, beauty,

affability, and the soul are ascribed to a nude figure, while at other times the trait gets

personified in the form. Numerous works by the Renaissance philosophers and poets

celebrate nude as a symbol of beauty, truth, and love. As is the case in Titian’s Venus of

Urbino where he has used the nudity of Venus as a garment that describes her beauty,

emotions and individualism.

Venus of Venus of Urbino depicts differences in relation to classical Venus presented

by other artists. The Sleeping Venus by Giorgione from 1508-10 would sleep on a landscape.

On the other hand, the classical Venus would stand in the painting and have her arms in the

front to conceal her nudity9. Sleeping Venus by Giorgione is the apex of the concept of

woman as an organic element of the natural world; it is the epitome of beauty as conceived

by the universe. While Titian's Venus of Urbino clearly borrows Giorgione's main

compositional idea and has a near-identical reproduction of the lying figure, it offers a very

different background of meaning. Venus of Urbino by Titian is a bedroom of a splendid

Renaissance castle, in contrast to the naked painting by Giorgione, which is set in a natural
7
Grabski, Józef. "" Victoria Amoris": Titian's" Venus of Urbino." A Commemorative Allegory of Marital
Love." Artibus et Historiae (1999): 9.
8
Ibid., 9.
9
Rona Goffen. “Introduction” in Titian's "Venus of Urbino". Masterpieces of Western Painting. Cambridge;
New York: Cambridge University Press, (1997). 5.
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setting and a vast open area10. Another similarity between Giorgione and Titian’s Venus is

that they have displayed them in the foreground. However, the Venus of Urbino is glaring at

the beholder instead of looking down or in other direction. Furthermore, Titian’s Venus is

alert and powerful11 with her gaze and shows assertiveness unlike the classical, goddesses

Venus that were painted as more passive. Through her gaze, Titian’s Venus shows she is

more dominating than the unseen male beholder. Titian’s Venus shows similarity to

Florentine’s Venus12 who does not look at the beholder but rather turns her gaze towards her

lover in the painting, which is the case in Titian’s painting as well, as the Venus of Urbino is

gazing at her beloved, the beholder, where the desire of the goddess is not in the picture but

before her.

In addition to the feminine nude, a number of symbolic items by Titian can be seen in

the painting with numerous components of iconographic value. Immediately visible is

Titian's Venus presence in the foreground. It takes up a significant portion of the piece and

serves as the centrepiece. Moreover, the artist's deliberate use of colour, form, and

arrangement to emphasise the intended message. She is seen lying on a bed with voluminous,

crinkled sheets and pillows that are painted in several shades of a warm white, ranging from a

clear white to grey, especially in the shadows of the folds, in a manner that is

characteristically Venetian13. The figure is encased in white blankets, representing innocence,

and lays on a red bed, representing passion. She is staring piercingly and insightfully into the

lens or the beholder. Her golden locks, which are styled into a crown at the top of her head,

also cascade down her back and shoulders. Her face reveals no sign of happiness as she stares

at the audience. However, it seems to communicate melancholy rather than true grief. She
10
Grabski, Józef. "" Victoria Amoris": Titian's" Venus of Urbino." A Commemorative Allegory of Marital
Love." Artibus et Historiae (1999): 11.
11
Ibid., 5.
12
Goffen, Rona, and Fredrika H. Jacobs. "Titian's women." Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism 58, no. 4
(2000). 148.
13
Grabski, Józef. "" Victoria Amoris": Titian's" Venus of Urbino." A Commemorative Allegory of Marital
Love." Artibus et Historiae (1999): 12.
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seems to be attracting the male beholder's attention by staring thoughtfully and directly at

him.

One context of Titian’s Venus of Urbino is a bridal context. Venus, the goddess of

love, surrounded by the marital attributes that she was guarding as her marital love14. The two

servants in the artwork are removing/replacing a gown in a cassone. Cassoni were

traditionally commissioned on the occasions of weddings to store clothing, particularly the

wife’s trousseau. The cassone was a purposeful signifier for a bridal attribute referring to

matrimony. A fair skinned maid with her back to the viewer is kneeling in a position that

might be interpreted as a sign of purity. She seems to be either putting something into, or

pulling something out of, the half-opened box in this painting by Titian. A black robe can be

seen to the right of the exposed chest. To her right, another maid waits. She's wearing a

striped red-and-white outfit. She faces the white maid and is holding the trunk's cover. She

has a lavishly embroidered robe slung over her shoulder. The lying figure's high social rank is

reflected in the rarity of this artefact. The draped gown over the servant's shoulder is either

being prepared for keeping or is about to be used as a dress by Venus which might be her

wedding dress15. The floral symbols such as the roses and the myrtle plant in the background

represent a very special kind of love, the permanent bond of conjugal love. The dog dozing at

the feet of the nude signifies the ideal of marital fidelity. Such bridal context of Venus of

Urbino was uncommon at the time because of common misogynistic artworks during the

time, and it was another example of Titian’s unique style of painting.

Another context that can be deduced from Titian’s painting through sociocultural and

historical understanding is that the painting shows beauty of life with its elements of joy and

sorrows, life and death, and the pain of waiting. The painting by Titian is not only a beautiful

Rosand David. "So-and-so reclining on her couch." Studies in the History of Art 45 (1993): 104.
14

Grabski, Józef. "" Victoria Amoris": Titian's" Venus of Urbino." A Commemorative Allegory of Marital
15

Love." Artibus et Historiae (1999): 16.

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love story; it is also a thought-provoking story about the transience of life on Earth, the

importance of love, and the need of cherishing every moment of it16. In addition, a thought is

offered regarding the potential realities that lie beyond the virtue-signalling column and

window. For the living tree to show against the sunlit sky, it must have been nourished

throughout life, and it is this virtue that grants us access to the understanding of the allegory

of love. Maybe there is a fruit of love developing in the womb of reclining lady as she waits

for it to be nourished by her beloved. Titian’s painting of Venus of Urbino may have a

context of a story crafted about love and its ultimate destiny, and the birth of a new life;

although death is remembered, it is not the focus of the story. This memorial allegory of love

is also a discourse on welcoming and celebrating all of life's many manifestations. Three

distinct stages of life are depicted17: 1) a new life, the fruit of love, just starting to grow and

come into existence; 2) the fullness of life, embodied by the reclining form of a woman; and

3) death, signalled only by allusions, however, via multiple aspects. Life is full of risks, and

so is death. The artist implies, in a subtle way, that although physical death of a loved one is

always a tragic event, it need not bring about an overwhelming sense of despair for the

surviving, since the departed will always be remembered and honoured.

16
Grabski, Józef. "" Victoria Amoris": Titian's" Venus of Urbino." A Commemorative Allegory of Marital
Love." Artibus et Historiae (1999): 22.
17
Ibid., 22.
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Bibliography

Burke, Jill. "Nakedness and other peoples: Rethinking the Italian renaissance nude." Art

History 36, no. 4 (2013): 714-739.

Goffen, Rona, and Fredrika H. Jacobs. "Titian's women." Journal of Aesthetics and Art

Criticism 58, no. 4 (2000). 146-159.

Grabski, Józef. "" Victoria Amoris": Titian's" Venus of Urbino." A Commemorative Allegory

of Marital Love." Artibus et Historiae (1999): 9-33.

John Berger. “Chapter 3” in Ways of Seeing. Pelican Original. London: New York: British

Broadcasting; Penguin Books, (1977). 45-64

Rosand, David. "So-and-so reclining on her couch." Studies in the History of Art 45 (1993):

100-119.

Rona Goffen. “Introduction” in Titian's "Venus of Urbino". Masterpieces of Western

Painting. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press, (1997). 1-22.