Drawing & Painting: The Birth of Venus (Botticelli), desktop wallpaper nr. 2

Other names:

Bosanski: Rođenje Venere.

Česky: Zrozen� Venu�e.

Dansk: Venus' f�dsel.

Norsk: Venus� F�dsel.

Deutsch: Geburt der Venus.

English: The Birth of Venus.

Espa�ol: El nacimiento de Venus.

Eesti: Veenuse s�nd.

Fran�ais : La Naissance de V�nus.

Italiano: La nascita di Venere.

日本語: ヴィーナスの誕生

한국어: 비너스의 탄생

Polski: Narodziny Wenus.

Slovenčina: Zrodenie Venu�e.

Svenska: Venus f�delse.

Rom�nă: Naşterea lui Venus

Русский: Рождение Венеры.

中文: 维纳斯的诞生

Origins

This large picture (wallpaper) may have been, like the Primavera, painted for Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de' Medici's Villa di Castello, around 1482 (530 years ago), or even before. Some scholars suggest that the Venus painted for Lorenzo and mentioned by Giorgio Vasari may have been a different work, now lost. Some art historians believe it to be a celebration of the love of Giuliano di Piero de' Medici (who died in the Pazzi conspiracy in 1478 (534 years ago)) for Simonetta Cattaneo Vespucci, who lived in Portovenere, a town by the sea with a local tradition of being the birthplace of Venus.

Whatever inspired the artist, there are clear similarities to Ovid's Metamorphoses and Fasti, as well as to Poliziano's Verses.

The classical goddess Venus emerges from the water on a shell, blown towards shore by the Zephyrs, symbols of spiritual passions. She is joined by one of the Horae, goddesses of the seasons, who hands her a flowered cloak.

The effect is distinctly pagan, considering it was made at a time and place when most artworks depicted Roman Catholic themes. It is somewhat surprising that this canvas escaped the flames of Savonarola's bonfires, where a number of Botticelli's other alleged pagan influenced works perished. Botticelli was very close to Lorenzo de' Medici. Because of their friendship and Lorenzo's power, this work was spared from Savonarola's fires and the disapproval of the church.

The anatomy of Venus and various subsidiary details do not display the strict classical realism of Leonardo da Vinci or Raphael. Most obviously, Venus has an improbably long neck, and her left shoulder slopes at an anatomically unlikely angle. Some have suggested it prefigures mannerism.

Sandro Botticelli

Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi, better known as Sandro Botticelli or Il Botticello ("The Little Barrel"; Mar. 1, 1445 (567 years ago) � May 17, 1510 (502 years ago)) was an Italian painter of the Florentine school during the Early Renaissance (Quattrocento). Less than a hundred years later, this movement, under the patronage of Lorenzo de' Medici, was characterized by Giorgio Vasari as a "golden age", a thought, suitably enough, he expressed at the head of his Vita of Botticelli. His posthumous reputation suffered until the late 19th century; since then his work has been seen to represent the linear grace of Early Renaissance painting, and The Birth of Venus and Primavera rank now among the most familiar masterpieces of Florentine art.

日本語: サンドロ・ボッティチェッリ（Sandro Botticelli, 1444/1445年 - 1510年5月17日）は、ルネサンス期のイタリアのフィレンツェ生まれの画家で、本名はアレッサンドロ・ディ・マリアーノ・フィリペーピ (Alessandro di Mariano Filipepi) といい、ボッティチェッリは兄が太っていたことからついた「小さな樽」という意味のあだ名である。
Русский: Боттичелли Сандро (Sandro Botticelli, собственно Алессандро Филипепи) � живописец Тосканской школы; род. в 1447 (565 years ago) г., � 17 мая 1515 (497 years ago). Сначала его отдали в ученье к некоему Боттичелли, отличному золотых дел мастеру; от него он и получил свою фамилию. Но скоро обнаружилось в нем неодолимое влечение к живописи, и он стал учиться ей у монаха Филиппе Липпи.
中文: 桑德罗�波提切利（Sandro Botticelli，1445年3月1日~1510年5月17日），原名亚里山德罗�菲力佩皮（Alessandro Filipepi）是欧洲文艺复兴早期的佛罗伦萨画派艺术家。