Talk:Portrait of Simonetta Vespucci

Copyright problem removed
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Asp?
Is there any reference that proves that the snake is meant to be an asp and not, say, a garter snake? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.232.13.204 (talk) 19:12, 3 September 2010 (UTC)


 * Haha. As person who has studied some zoology, I have to confess that I am not familiar enough with European or Italian snakes to answer that. But it looks like a harmless snake to me. An asp is differently proportioned, I think: a thicker body compared to the length.
 * "Giorgio Vasari regarded her as portraying Cleopatra, because of the toplessness and the snake, which he identified with the asp with which, according to Plutarch, Cleopatra committed suicide. However, the art historian Norbert Schneider regards it as more likely that the iconography of the portrait derives from that in late Classical antiquity, in which the snake, especially biting its own tail, symbolized the cycle of time and hence rejuvenation, and was thus associated with Janus, the Roman god of the new year, and with Saturn, who became a "Father Time" figure because his Greek name, Kronos, was conflated with Chronos, meaning "time". The inscription refers to Simonetta as Januensis (of Genoa, but the variant spelling punning on Janus). The snake was also the symbol of Prudentia; in that interpretation, it would be praise for Simonetta's wisdom.[2] [paragraph] An alternative suggestion is that she is presented as Proserpina, with the snake symbolizing the pagans' hope of resurrection.[3][4]"
 * Anyway, all of that is total BS of the kind devised by art critics, who have to say something no matter how meaningless it is. I admit that there is a fine line between erudition and BS, but this crosses it. Why can't this simply be a portrait of a pretty young woman with nice breasts, who perhaps was locally notorious for having a pet snake? 173.174.85.88 (talk) 15:48, 28 August 2017 (UTC) Eric

Medium
Is it tempera as stated in the lead or oil as stated in the INFOBOX?-- S Philbrick (Talk)  15:42, 29 April 2017 (UTC)

File:Piero di Cosimo - Portrait de femme dit de Simonetta Vespucci - Google Art Project.jpg to appear as POTD soon
Hello! This is a note to let the editors of this article know that File:Piero di Cosimo - Portrait de femme dit de Simonetta Vespucci - Google Art Project.jpg will be appearing as picture of the day on August 28, 2017. You can view and edit the POTD blurb at Template:POTD/2017-08-28. If this article needs any attention or maintenance, it would be preferable if that could be done before its appearance on the Main Page. — Chris Woodrich (talk) 00:23, 15 August 2017 (UTC)