1. Alex Wu, Jack D’Aquila, Anuj Patel, Aaron Kang
Ch.21 Artwork Spotlight
Alex Wu, Jack D’Aquila, Anuj Patel, Aaron Kang

2. Birth of Venus by Sandro Boticelli (c.1484-1486 CE)

3. Artist: Sandro Botticelli
Sandro Botticelli was a prominent Italian Renaissance artist who was invited to work on some of the decoration in the Sistine Chapel and even earned patronage from the wealthy families of Italy, including the Medici
Actual name is Alessandro di Mariano Vanni Filipepi Botticelli and Sandro Botticelli is a nickname given by his older brother (it means small wine cask)
Destroyed some of his paintings because Savonarola, a radical Florentine monk, at the time believed any artworks were considered ungodly
Unfortunately, his prominence declined as he grew because he couldn’t compete with the revolutionary changes in art and artists like Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci
Source:

4. Period/Style: Renaissance of Quattrocento Italy
The Renaissance of Quattrocento Italy flourished with the congruence of artistic genius, the spread of humanism, and economic prosperity
Involved the revival of Greek and Roman classical values of art in life (also the return of rationalism in the use of artworks)
Wealthy families sponsored artworks (especially the Medici family), allowing artists to expand their talents
The Renaissance allowed the return of Greco-Roman mythological themes of art (i.e. Birth of Venus)
Humanism is a code of civil conduct, theory of education, and a scholarly discipline rather than a philosophy; humanists are concerned with human values and interest as distinct from religion's otherworldly values (though not opposed to); had enthusiasm for antiquity, like Greek and Roman literature and philosophy
Source: Gardner’s Art Through the Ages: A Global History

5. Patron: The Medici Family
The Medici family was a powerful family that attained its wealth through commerce and banking.
They had so much power that even some members of the family when on to become popes. This shows how much power the Medici family had in Florence.
Were great contributors to the arts and allowed prominent artists, like Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Botticelli, etc., to grow in talent
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6. Location: Galleria dosli Uffizi, Florence

7. Material: Tempera on Canvas
Canvas was valued in Venice because high humidity warped wood panels and made fresco unfeasible
Is more portable than wood
Source: Gardner’s Art Through the Ages: A Global History
Tempera
Tempera is made from egg and ground pigments
Compared to oil paints, tempera was less desired than oil paint because it dried quickly, not allowing artists to rework areas
Source: Gardner’s Art Through the Ages: A Global History

8. Function
The function of this painting was to create a painting that would satisfy the tastes of the Medici family
Botticelli sought to revive the theme of the female nude by basing his artwork on an Angelo Poliziano poem and classical Aphrodite Statues
Source: Gardner’s Art Through the Ages: A Global History

9. Context
Theme based on the subject of a poem by Angelo Poliziano, a leading humanist of the day
The painting shows Poliziano’s retelling of the Greek myth, Zephyrus, carrying Chloris, blows Venus, born of sea foam and carried on a cockle shell, to her sacred island, Cyprus. There, the nymph Pomona runs to meet her with a brocaded mantle.
Venus was depicted nude, unlike in Primavera, which was very rare and scandalous, but with the Medici family sponsoring the artwork, the depiction went unchallenged
Source: Art Through the Ages: A Global History

10. Details
Draperies undulate easily in the gentle gusts, perfumed by rose petals that fall on the whitecaps
Botticelli’s elegant and beautiful liner style seems removed from all scientific knowledge, as the seascape is a flat backdrop devoid of atmospheric perspective
Source: Gardner’s Art Through the Ages: A Global History
Lightness and bodilessness of the winds move all the figures without effort