Sandro Botticelli, an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance, produced several famous artistic works, including renowned works like Primavera and Fortitude. One of his works, Birth Of Venus, represents the Goddess Venus arriving on the island Cyprus on a shell. She is being pushed to the shore by the winds of Zephyr and received onshore by nymph Chloris with a flowered cloak. While Botticelli's Birth of Venus had a specific meaning tailored to Botticelli's meticulous intentions, the overall message of the painting has exponentially been altered over time, as seen in various mediums, including contemporary pop culture.
Prior to analyzing the transformation of the work, we must first understand the original painting itself. Painted for the Medici family, the Birth of Venus originally had the purpose of breaking the customed artistic traditions of the 15th century Renaissance era. The idealization of nudity at the time of the painting's composition was not seen for roughly a millennium. At the time of the late 15th century, nudity was typically depicted in art to represent humiliation or vice. However, Botticelli shakes the scene up with his work of Venus. His production was done to celebrate the female body and the duality of birth and life. The painting was created to also display a female's modesty in naked light (as seen with gestures covering private parts), with a sense of purity. The painting was a mashup of typical Gothic artistic body proportions and the culture of the Classical Antiquity period.
However, the Birth of
Venus has adopted different roles in contemporary pop culture. Its message in these modern works evolves to a certain extent. In some instances, the Birth Of Venus has been used as a source of female empowerment, especially in the light of birth-giving (as Venus in the painting celebrates birth/life). Specifically, this is seen in a Beyonce Instagram post, where she poses in reference to Venus's stature and incorporates colorful flowered apparel as well, drawing reference to the famous painting. Furthermore, Beyonce shows her female strength and beauty as she delivers twins and stares into the camera to display her confidence. This serves as an evolution from the original painting's message (as Venus did not stare into our eyes in the original image). In other instances, the meaning of the Birth of Venus has transformed into an association of one having a good understanding of high art and being a cultured individual. In simpler terms, to explain this concept, if one associates with the Birth of Venus, he/she is conside
red a well-knowledged individual of the arts and distinguished from the common masses. This association generates a sense of grandness within an individual. This, for example, is seen in Lady Gaga's 2013 album Artpop and music video for her song Applause. The references to Venus made Gaga and company appear well versed in the arts, and gave Gaga a goddess-esqe appearance (in terms of power and beauty). The association helps establish Gaga's work as a more refined, professional work of art, unlike other artists who did not make the reference. Additionally, Venus is also used as a symbol of beauty in contemporary pop culture. For example, in The New Yorker, from May 25th, 1992, Venus is depicted as a modern woman with her apparel and blow dryer. Her flawless appearance serves as an ideal standard of female beauty and rises her above the common masses who need make-up to obtain such beauty. While the original painting had a p
artial objective of displaying beauty, this rendition in contemporary pop had the sole purpose of displaying beauty.
With the Birth of Venus's application being altered over time, its significance can be taken out of context and, in turn, change one's general understanding of the piece. For example, Botticelli's style and the Birth of Venus revived in popularity during the 19th century. This occurrence inspir
ed the over-sexualization of women in paintings with excessive eye-rolling and swiveled hips. In a particular artwork, Venus was even transformed into a petrol pump. This makes Venus (and a female in general) a utilitarian object whose purpose is to feed into/satisfy the male sexual desire. This deviates and ta
kes away from the original message of the painting, which was to praise female beauty and birth/life in an innocent and elegant manner. Furthermore, in the many modern pop culture works previously stated, the original painting's overall message is altered. Many references manipulate the original message, modifying it to one having a high knowledge of the arts or pure female empowerment (as seen with the Gaga and Beyonce pieces of media, respectively). While it is hard to pinpoint whether such manipulation has a positive or negative connotation, it is undoubted that the original message fades away to a certain extent with each manipulation. To exemplify this occurrence in a specific case, it is seen with The New Yorker from 1992. In this contemporary work, Venus is depicted as beautiful in the modern work. However, we then forget the message of Venus in the original painting was to also display female purity and the celebration of birth/life. This concept is missing with the Venus in The New Yorker, who is propped in modern clothing and holding a blow dryer and hairbrush. The birth/life facto
r with the seashell is completely removed, which ultimately takes away from our general perceptions of the original work.
While it can be unanimously agreed that the 19th century's overly-sexualized references of Venus are an insult and mockery, the references in pop culture do testify to the popularity of t
he work. Regardless of how Venus is portrayed or referenced, there must be some level of acknowledgment of the Birth of Venus to reference her. We see allusions/references to Venus in various modern mediums, ranging from magazines to murals. This widespread acknowledgment, in turn, echoes the popularity of the painting. Furthermore, it is arguable that the use of Venus in pop culture reflects a degree of homage to Botticelli and his efforts. The majority of Birth of Venus references in pop culture either have a neutral or positive connotation associated with them (i.e., they highlight some of the positive messages of Birth of Venus, like female beauty). Some of the references' communications even align with the original painting's message. This is seen with how the beauty of Venus in the painting is used to display female beauty in pop culture, as seen
with The New Yorker and David LaChapelle’s Rebirth of Venus. Many of these modern designers also explicitly declare they drew inspiration from the original painting, thus strengthening the case of homage. Overall, the heavy use of Birth of Venus in pop culture is explainable by the work's popularity. For the most part, in modern culture, such heavy use can be deemed homage, as the references are generally used to draw light on a positive subject like highlighting female beauty.
In regards to the audience of many of these pop culture works, it includes individuals of all backgrounds. Anyone can look at a modern creation and enjoy its details to whatever extent they are capable of. However, regarding the acknowledgment of specific references to the Venus painting in those pop culture works, one must have some sort of elementary knowledge of Botticelli's Birth of Venus and its significance. Without experience, an individual can only draw information from what is presented to them. For example, this concept is seen in Beyonce's Instagram post. At surface level, the regular eye simply views the social media post as Beyonce holding her twin newborns, looking beautiful while doing so. However, if one understands the Birth of Venus's reference, he/she understands how the two newborns refer to the original painting's celebration of birth and life in general. F
urthermore, one can also pick up the deeper meaning of Beyonce's floral cloths draped around her, as it is a testament to the floral fabric Chloris holds and the rose petals in the scenery. Moreover, Beyonce's offset stance is also a reference to Venus's posturing. These various elements work together to allude to the original painting and help bolster the dynamic message of female beauty and birth. Since these references draw from a source (the original painting) with powerful messages, one has to recognize the original artwork in the contemporary piece. This is necessary to make the modern piece and its message more effective, thus in turn, enabling one to understand the various workings of the piece entirely. To reiterate, if we didn't recognize the references to Venus in Beyonce's Instagram post, we would fail to obtain the underlying me
ssages displayed of female beauty and birth.
Botticelli's Birth of Venus truly has had a path to fame unparallel to any other outstanding artwork. From its esteem obtained centuries later postdating its creation to the various manipulations/references in 19th-century art and contemporary pop culture, the work indeed has had an impact on art and society like no other. Speaking of pop culture, the painting has been used to display high cultural knowledge, female beauty, and feminine empowerment. These positive associations can be considered homage, as they take the positives of the work and convert it into a dignified message. However, in the 19th century, the over-
sexualization
of females inspired by the original painting can ultimately hinder the original message of the painting. However, to determine whether or not the Birth of Venus'
s original message is a medium of influence for modern works, one must have some rudimentary knowledge of the original work to detect any subliminal references. It seems the Birth of Venus will still unwaveringly be a cornerstone of our culture in the future years. It will be interesting to see how the remarkable painting will be incorporated in new mediums of art/culture in the coming years.
Inpsired by A Look at Botticelli’s “The Birth of Venus” in Pop Culture written by Abigail Cain
Comments