Question: Describe a piece of art you like.

You should say:

• what the work of art is
• when you first saw it
• what you know about it
• and explain why you like it.

Answer: One of my favourite pieces of art is called The Birth of Venus, by an artist called Sandro
Botticelli. This piece of art is undoubtedly one of the world's most famous and appreciated works of art.
Painted by Sandro Botticelli between 1482 and 1485, it has become a landmark of XV century Italian
painting, so rich in meaning and allegorical references to antiquity. The painting shows the triumphant
Goddess of Love and Beauty. The Romans knew her as Venus, while for the Greeks she was Aphrodite.
She stands tall and naked at the centre of the canvas, looking ethereal and luminous. She seems to draw
all attention to herself; a symbol of beauty, who is both physical and spiritual.
The first time I saw this painting was in the 9th grade. My drawing teacher showed us a book
with several pieces of art and of all, this one caught my attention. When I got home, I searched the
internet for more information about this painting because I was very interested and I really thought it was
a very beautiful painting.
I know that the theme comes from Ovid’s Metamorphoses, a very important oeuvre of the Latin
literature. Venus is portrayed naked on a shell on the seashore; on her left the winds blow gently caressing
her hair with a shower of roses, on her right a handmaid (Ora) waits for the goddess to go closer to dress
her shy body. The meadow is sprinkled with violets, symbol of modesty but often used for love potions.
One of the things I love about this painting is the way her whole body follows the curve of a
Gothic ivory. It is entirely without that quality so much prized in classical art, known as aplomb; that is to
say, the weight of the body is not distributed evenly either side of a central plumb line..... She is not
standing but floating... Her shoulders, for example, instead of forming a sort of architrave to her torso, as
in the antique nude, run down into her arms in the same unbroken stream of movement as her floating
hair.
Another thing I find fascinating about this painting is the matter of the surface used for this large-
scale composition, it is important to underline that it was released on canvas, which was at the times a
novelty and was mostly used for secular paintings appropriate for country villas. The painting consists of
two pieces of canvas, sewn together before the process with a gesso ground tinted blue.
Rather than choosing one of the many interpretations offered for Botticelli's depiction of the Birth
of Venus it might be better to view it from a variety of perspectives. This layered approach—
mythological, political, religious—was intended.