Myths and legends: Botticelli's 'Venus and Mars'
We began by
looking at Venus’s in art to this point, thinking about the role of the ancient
statues in setting models for painted Venus’s. We also looked at other works by
Botticelli with Venus’s in them.
We then went to
look at the picture in the gallery. We thought about its unusual shape and what
it might have been used for. We also talked about the fact it’s not dated and
how we can place it stylistically. We then talked about which sections used
ancient models and which were contemporary.
Back in the
lecture room we looked at the layers of meaning in the paintings. Most
fascinating was the idea that it shows a well-known contemporary couple
Simonetta Vespuci and Juliano de Medici, friend and brother of Lorenzo de
Medici. We also talked about how it may refer to another picture referred to in
ancient texts o Alexander the Great and his wife Roxanna.
The relationship
may be being shown as a Platonic one and we discussed Platonic philosophy at
this time. We analyses the symbolism in the picture including the oval green
prickly fruit at the front of the picture plane which the lecturer thought is a
Thorn Apple and a reference to the garden of Eden. This could therefore be seen
as a humanist version of Adam and Eve.
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