Poster N 1004 - Sandro Botticelli - The birth of Venus (1484-1486)

LOVE - Venus, the goddess of love, represents the arrival of the concept of love and beauty in the world. The painting depicts love as a force that drives and animates life. Zephyr and Chloris, who blow towards Venus, symbolize romantic love, while Venus herself embodies platonic love—pure and elevated—which inspires people to seek beauty and harmony in their lives. Ora, standing to the right and reaching out with a cloak toward Venus, symbolizes the transition from the divine to the earthly realm. Her gesture, attempting to cover Venus’s nudity, can be interpreted as an effort to “clothe” divine beauty and innocence in earthly symbols of modesty and decorum.

PURITY - Venus’s nudity symbolizes both inner and outer purity, innocence, and divinity. Her image is devoid of vulgarity; instead, it represents the ideal of soulful and physical purity, elevated and idealized. Venus is portrayed as a being newly born, untainted by earthly passions and concerns, emphasizing her connection to the higher, spiritual aspects of love and beauty.

REBIRTH - The painting symbolizes the birth of a new world and a new era—the Renaissance, when art, culture, and philosophy were revitalized, drawing inspiration from antiquity. Venus emerging from the sea foam represents renewal and the birth of all living things. This serves as an allegory for the beginning of a new cultural and spiritual journey for society, a rebirth of classical values and ideals in art and science.