User:BUsunz/Venus Anadyomene (Titian)

Original Article: Venus Anadyomene (Titian)Venus Anadyomene ('Venus Rising from the Sea') is an oil painting created in 1520 by Venetian Renaissance painter Titian currently located in the Scottish National Gallery. The subject of the painting, Venus Anadyomene is one of the most iconic representations of the goddess Venus according to mythology. With a size of 75.80 x 56.70 cm, it is smaller than other works illustrating the same subject.

Visual Analysis and Subject Depicted
The painting portrays the goddess Venus standing alone by the sea, wringing her hair. Titian employs the technique of sfumato to blend the sky and ocean in the background. The subtle pastel pink and blue sets apart from the vibrant reddish-gold from the goddess' hair and her white-rose skin. According to Roman mythology, she was born in a shell from the sea spray and was blow to the shore by the wind. Appeared as fully nude and grown, the scallop shell is left behind in the bottom left. The goddess takes the majority of the painting to secure her position as the primary subject depicted. Unlike other depictions of the goddess' birth such as Sandro Botticelli's The Birth of Venus where the goddess is blow-dried by the Zephyrs, it is intended to identify the subject rather than be a boat-like vessel. Titian's illustration is smaller than the usual birth of Venus scenes, the goddess is noticeably damp and set in a more private Degas-like scene.

The goddess is often represented as a nude figure with the scallop shell symbolizing the female vulva. The voluptuousness of the Venus presented, and her sideways glance also marked a resemblance to the Crouching Venus and Cnidian Venus types of antique sculpture. The wringing of her hair is a direct imitation of Pliny’s the Elder’s account of Venus Anadyomene, a work by the famous ancient Greek painter, Apelles. The scene of Venus rising from the sea was painted from antiquity, revived in Renaissance, and continued in the periods of Baroque and Rococo. Titian deliberately included this detail to prove that he could renew the art of antiquity and combines the technique of trompe l'oeil to create reality.

Medium, Style, and Composition
The medium of the painting is oil on canvas with a dimension of 75.8 cm x 57.6 cm.

The artist utilizes bright colour on the main subject of the painting to separate it from the blurred darkened background. The pink shades of the horizon set apart from the bluish tone of the sky and ocean in the background. The enlarged female figure features bright colour combined with bold and expressive brushstrokes occupy the entire foreground to create this sense of vitality.

The contrapposto pose of the goddess' body leaning to the left while her head is turning toward the right creates this striking chromatic harmony. Venus was also an important symbolic figure for the city of Cyprus, where the goddess born from the waves and landed on the shores of Cyprus acted as an allegorical parallel for the city that rose from the sea.

Historical Background and Provenance
There is no direct evidence about the original commission of the painting. However, the idea that this work of Venus Anadyomene was commissioned by Alfonso d’Este, the Duke of Ferrara, one of the important patrons of Titian was acknowledged by many art historians. The Duke of Ferrara's agent reported back to the Duke described the subject as "the girls who Titian paints arouse his desires, which he then satisfies more than his limited strength permits". However, art historian Harold Wethey argues that this is not the same canvas that Titian promised to the duke, since this commission, even if it had been designed, was apparently never finished.

After the completion of the painting in Titian's workshop in 1520, the location of the painting remains unknown. Then it is acquired by Queen Christina of Sweden in 1662 and was bequeathed to Cardinal Decio Azzelino. Then the painting was inherited by his nephew Marchese Pomponio Azzolino in 1689 and sold to Prince Don Livio Odescalchi in 1692. Upon Livio Odescalchi's death, the painting was inherited Odescalchi-Erba and sold to 1720 by Philippe 2nd, Duke of Orléans. The painting remains in the Orléans collection at the Palais Royal, Paris until Louis Philippe Joseph, 5th Duc d'Orléans sold it in 1792.

The painting passed through various owners until it was exhibited for sale at Bryan's Gallery, London in 1798. However, it was reserved for Lord Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater who held possession of the painting from 1798 to 1803. The painting was inherited by George Leveson-Gower, 1st Duke of Sutherland, and passed on to the dukes of Sutherland until 1945 when the 6th Duke of Sutherland, who lent it and 26 other paintings to the National Gallery of Scotland in 1945.

On the death of the childless Duke in 2000, the work was acquired from his cousin, Francis Egerton, 7th Duke of Sutherland under generous terms for more than £11m in 2003 where he market value has been estimated at £20m. The purchase was able to complete with the aid of the National Art Collections Fund (£500,000), the Heritage Lottery Fund (£7.6m), and the Scottish Executive (£2.5m). To facilitate the sale, £2.4m of the picture's value was offset against inheritance tax, and the 20 million market value was covered in a deal with the government to pay off the Sutherland inheritance tax bill. After the sale, the 7th Duke said, "To all intents and purposes nothing has changed, except the painting will now belong to the nation."

The painting remains in the Scottish National Gallery after the acquisition from the Sutherland collection in 2003.

Further Readings
"Artworks | National Galleries of Scotland". www.nationalgalleries.org. Retrieved 2020-11-17.

hoakley (2020-06-22). "Goddess of the Week: The Birth of Aphrodite (Venus Anadyomene)". The Eclectic Light Company. Retrieved 2020-11-17.