Topic 4 - Venus of Urbino, Titian, 1538

John Berger states that “men act, women appear….

Men look at women, women watch themselves being looked at.”

commissioned by…

Duke della Rovere

seen as setting the standard…

for the image of the reclining female nude

intended to operate as an allegory of…

marriage - to ‘instruct’ women in their marital obligations / duties

Hung in the…

Duke’s private chamber

in terms of composition, it draws upon…

Giorgione’s ‘Sleeping Venus’ 1510

shows a young woman about…

to be dressed in fine clothes

inspired by classical images of…

the ‘Venus pudica’ - highly sensual treatment

…. and …. colouring of the female body in the foreground intended to create an …. contrast with dark background

light / warm / erotic

the painting is divided into…

two by the screening cloth - we are made privy to the secluded, intimate side

this access to the intimate side gives the viewer a sense of…

power and control

soft ….. models forms and creates an overriding sensual feel to the work

chiaroscuro

the pose is…

languid and casual

highly suggestive gaze seen as…

expression of female desire for husband

Mark Twain in the 19th C. called it the…

‘obscenest picture the world possesses’ - frank nudity, a depiction of a soft, pliable and inviting female, prepared for intimacy

painted in the tradition of Titian’s other…

‘belle donne’ - loose hair, expensive jewellery, pale skin and flirtatious glance

perspective shows the influence of the…

renaissance in Florence, diminishing figures and recessional floor tiles, this creating a believable setting

the columns … and there are smaller …. in the distance

overlap / trees

there is a use of …. perspective outside

atmospheric

the direct gaze of the female adds to the…

sensuality of the painting

symbols of sensuality also include….

flowers, flowing hair, crumples sheets, jewellery, velvet curtains screening intimate space, body turned towards the viewer etc.

her flesh is painted smoothly with…

glazes of oil pigment

the title ‘Venus’ comes later - by giving nudes mythological identities helped…

make them more acceptable as contemplations of ideal beauty rather than just a naked woman, giving them a more respectable status

rounded body suggesting…

fertility, accentuated by a carefully placed hand

background shows a….

servant woman with her head in a cassone - a box used to store household items like blankets

suggests that this woman with not only be able to ….. but also be able to …..

conceive / run a household (domestic values thus referenced)

myrtle trees glimpsed in the window suggest….

faithfulness as they are evergreen

the dog at her feet is suggestive of…

loyalty

roses in her hand suggest…

sensuality and youth, possibly also a reminder of the transience of these