the birth of Venus

artist

cabanel

year

1863

depicts

venus, the goddess of love, being born on a rock in the sea, swarmed by cupids

use for

mythological, French academic

French academic

• won gold in the Paris salon of ‘63 due to its perfection of academic style, achieving all the aims they taught at the royal academy, have a mythological subject - Venus us the goddess of love- as well as being large in scale

• Venus has pale skint show delicacy and links back to classical sculptures, an academic influence, with a polished finish and smooth

• elongated, small feet and long flowing hair, while lying in a reclining position with the wave shape emphasising her form, a tradition in a female nude, showing idealisation and the beauty standard in classical art

• her eyes are covered, creating objectification - “men observe women and women watch themselves being watched”

• soft colour palette, of pale blues and nudes, typical of academic work, giving it a peaceful mythological feel - “a goddess… made of a sort of pink and white marrzipan” Zola

mythological

• shell in cupids hands = announce birth

• goddess of love shown delicately through elongation, polished finish and pale colours