The Goddess Years
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Titian
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Venus with a Mirror
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Titian is generally ranked with Michaelangelo and Raphael
as the greatest painter of the High Renaissance. But whereas Michaelangelo
perfected the masculine ideal, Titian's genius was most conspicuous
in his female subjects, and his sumptuous representations of femininity
have never been equaled. Titian found inspiration in a lovely fair-haired
model, who personified for him the very acme of feminine beauty. The
identity of this model is uncertain, but she is often judged the most
beautiful woman in history. He first painted her in Venus with a Mirror
(right) which ranks as Titian's supreme masterwork. The artist was so
attached to this painting that could never bear to sell it, and it remained
with him until his death. Unlike the earlier works, in Venus with a
Mirror Titian's voluptuous model adopts the classical pose known as
the Venus Pudica, or "modest Venus" But Titian contrasts the traditional
modesty of the pose with the unmistakable pleasure in her own appearance
that the goddess exhibits as she looks into the mirror as if her luxurious
charms are so wondrous that she herself is forced to pause and catch
her breath in awe.
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Peter Paul Rubens
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Venus before the Mirror |
The image shown here is the greatest depiction of female
beauty in Western art. The subject of the love goddess entranced by her
own reflection was a commonplace in the Renaissance and Baroque eras,
and Titian's Venus with a Mirror (above) was considered the very pinnacle
of the genre. This painting so captivated Rubens that he made a nearly
literal copy for himself which, however, fell short of Titian's mastery.
But in the subsequent Venus before the Mirror shown here, Rubens reinterpreted
and personalized the theme according to the spirit of the Northern Baroque,
and in doing so transcended his predecessor's achievement. Rubens's Venus
is more humanized than Titian's. Her figure is even fuller and more curvaceous,
her unbound golden tresses cascade freely down her back, and she gazes,
not upon her own reflection, but on the effect that her beauty has upon
the viewer. |
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Peter Paul Rubens
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The Union of Earth and Water |
The four elements, Earth, Air, Fire, and Water, were considered
to be fundamental elements of the world contents, and were usually depicted
as classical gods and goddesses. Earth is personified by Demeter (Ceres);
Water is personified by a river god; Air is usually represented by Hera
(Juno); Fire is represented by Hephestus (Vulcan) or may be depicted as
a woman with her head in flames. |
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Sandro Botticelli
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The Birth of Venus |
The action of the picture is quickly understood. Venus has
emerged from the sea on a shell which is driven to the shore by flying
wind-gods amidst a shower of roses. As she is about to step on to the
land, one of the Hours or Nymphs receives her with a purple cloak. Botticelli's
Venus is so beautiful that we do not notice the unnatural length of her
neck, the steep fall of her shoulders and the queer way her left arm is
hinged to the body. Or, rather, we should say that these liberties which
Botticelli took with nature in order to achieve a graceful outline add
to the beauty and harmony of the design because they enhance the impression
of an infinitely tender and delicate being, wafted to our shores as a
gift from Heaven. |
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Alexandre Cabanel
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The Birth of Venus |
This painting was the hit of the controversial Salon of
1863. While crowds were dismayed by Manet's Olympia with her direct
gaze and unacceptable standards of modeling and composition, Cabanel's
Venus has all the refined eroticism that was expected by Salon-goers of
the time. She is idealized and devoid of any blemish or body hair. She
is sexually passive, characterless, and more perfect than is possible.
Surrounded by masses of luxuriant hair, she is the ultimate male fantasy,
voluptuous yet chaste, as well as accommodating. Her form, a brilliant
performance of draftsmanship and careful, systematic modeling, is the
nineteenth century's version of ancient and Renaissance styles. |
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Pre-Raphaelite
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John Millais
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Ophelia |
This shows Ophelia floating down the river into which she
has cast herself, feeling rejected by Hamlet. Her hair fans out in the
stream, a necklace of violets around her neck and a loose bouquet of many
different flowers drifting away from her slightly raised hands. All of
these in Victorian flower lore contain meaning or are mentioned by Shakespeare
in Hamlet. The plants on the riverbank show a typical selection of flowers
and plants from an English summer hedgerow, all painted in precise detail.
After casting around for a suitable location for the painting, he finally
chose a quiet spot on the Hogsmill River (a tributary of the Thames) at
Ewell in Surrey. Much of the walk was painted outdoors on the riverbank,
greatly to the annoyance of a pair of swans who disputed the territory
and drove Millais to near distraction. |
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John William Waterhouse
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A Mermaid |
As a part of Waterhouse's diploma work for the Royal Academy
of Arts, A Mermaid is one of his "most delicate conceptions, and
understandably he had lingered long in bringing it to perfection." |
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