venus
I choose to look at the painting "The Toilet of Venus" or more commonly referred to as "The Rokeby Venus" by Diego Velalazquez. The "Rokeby" part came into effect, because the painting was originally displayed in the Morritt Collection at Rokeby Hall in Yorkshire, before being moved to its current home in the National Gallery. Diego Velazquez was born in Seville in 1599, and went on to become one of the most brilliant and influential painters ever to come from Spain. He lived in Madrid for most of his adult life, and was employed as a court painter. Throughout his career, he tackled a wide variety of subjects, such as landscapes, scenes from real life, and mythological/religious figures. He was a master realist who excelled at capturing essential features upon the canvas. He painted "The Rokeby Venus" between 1647 and 1651, and was his only nude portrait, as well as the first one in Spain, at that time. Initially the painting met with some disapproval, especially from !the Church, since it was a nude, but eventually the work received great praise, and became known, as being one of the most beautiful and significant portrayals of Venus in the history of Western Art.
After doing some further research on this painting, I came to learn about some aspects that tend to shed some light on what Velazquez, actually intended for this work to represent. The pose that Venus is in, is erotic, yet she still manages to embody innocence and sensibility; due to her surroundings. Venus was shown to have many recognizable attributes, including the fact that she was nude. Her reflection is that of only her face, and oddly enough, against the laws of optics, leaves out the rest of her body. painting, in its simplest form, consists of a naked woman lying elegantly upon stately and rich cloths, while a young, also nude boy, is holding a mirror which contains her reflection. I come to see this as Venus's greatest feature; although she is the absolute figure of beauty, she is not vain, or at least not in this work. It is amazing how Velazquez showed such a figure of absolute beauty and gave her a mirror so she could see herself, yet made it so she was not looking. The majestic red in the background seems to show exaggerate her royal status and greatness. Finally the biggest clue that led me to her identity, was the presence of her son, Cupid. She is displayed with elegant draperies surrounding her, which help to create the illusion that she is so rightly a goddess, upon a pedestal, not able to be touched. ------------------------------------------------------------------------**Bibliography**. Knowing all of these clues, I was easily able to piece together the identity of the subjects, before I even saw the title of the panting. I feel that this tactic was well above the typical norm for that time, it made the viewer wonder; can she possibly know how beautiful she really is? The question still lingers even today, was she not looking because she knows, or because she doesn't. We, the viewers are all busy admiring her, as well as her son Cupid, yet all she can do is look toward us, through the magic of the mirror. He is found in many Venus pictures, and he is very easy to decipher in the work.
Common topics in this essay:
Western Art,
Rokeby Venus,
Diego Velazquez,
Goddess Love,
Spain Initially,
Velalazquez Rokeby,
Hall Yorkshire,
Tracy Stevens,
rokeby venus,
Toilet Venus,
nude portrait,
son cupid,
identity subjects,
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Acceptance Essays
