Whether in sculpture or in painting, Venus finds her way into countless works of art. The goddess of love, beauty, and fertility, the nude Venus is a common motif that may represent a number of ideas: chastity, the sin of sexuality, or Neo-Platonic interpretations of love. Botticelli is no stranger to the use of Venus in art; three of his paintings – Birth of Venus, Primavera, and Venus and Mars – depict Venus as the central figure. However, very little is known about the backgrounds of these paintings; their patron, provenance, and purpose largely remain a mystery, leaving questions about how Botticelli views Venus and how he intended his audience to view Venus. As a widely discussed figure in art, Venus is sometimes used to repress or shame
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He may have even left the identity of the figures unknown so as to add to the multilevel interpretations available. Botticelli’s true intentions are nearly impossible to know for sure, however, due to the passage of time, the painting’s unknown provenance, and the current location of the painting. All three of Botticelli’s Venus paintings original locations are unknown, resulting in unknown context. They have all been suggested as wedding paintings, and the material, medium, and size of Venus and Mars support this claim for that particular painting. A likely purpose for the painting would have been as a spalliera placed above a cassone (i.e. a wall panel placed at shoulder height above a wedding chest) in a wedding chamber, possibly commissioned by the Medici in Florence. Such a painting would be erotic in nature, representing the consummation of the marriage and serving as inspiration for the virgin bride. In this case, Venus simultaneously represents empowerment and subservience. On the one hand, she encourages the female to take charge of her sexuality and embrace it; on the other hand, this empowerment is only meant to exist in the context of the marriage bed, where its purpose is procreation. Thus in this way the female’s body and its sexuality are reduced to providers of
He may have even left the identity of the figures unknown so as to add to the multilevel interpretations available. Botticelli’s true intentions are nearly impossible to know for sure, however, due to the passage of time, the painting’s unknown provenance, and the current location of the painting. All three of Botticelli’s Venus paintings original locations are unknown, resulting in unknown context. They have all been suggested as wedding paintings, and the material, medium, and size of Venus and Mars support this claim for that particular painting. A likely purpose for the painting would have been as a spalliera placed above a cassone (i.e. a wall panel placed at shoulder height above a wedding chest) in a wedding chamber, possibly commissioned by the Medici in Florence. Such a painting would be erotic in nature, representing the consummation of the marriage and serving as inspiration for the virgin bride. In this case, Venus simultaneously represents empowerment and subservience. On the one hand, she encourages the female to take charge of her sexuality and embrace it; on the other hand, this empowerment is only meant to exist in the context of the marriage bed, where its purpose is procreation. Thus in this way the female’s body and its sexuality are reduced to providers of