Venus and Mars is one of the most popular paintings by the Italian artist Sandro Botticelli. The ancient gods are depicted on the canvas: Venus, in the guise of a beautiful girl, lovingly looks at Mars – a soundly sleeping, almost naked youth.
His entire posture is filled with serenity and absolute peace. This idyllic plot is diluted with mischievous satyrs who stole a spear, helmet and other attributes of the god of war. The presented images are symbolic: only Venus, as the embodiment of beauty and love, is capable of disarming the warlike and ferocious Mars. He is defenseless against her spell.
Author: Sandro Botticelli (1445-1510).
Year of writing: 1483.
Size: 173.4 x 69.2 cm.
Style: Early Renaissance.
Genre: Mythological. Portrait.
Technique: Tempera.
Material: Panel.
Location: National Gallery, London, UK.
Painting “Venus and Mars” by Sandro Botticelli – love that pacifies aggression
Sandro Botticelli, who worked in the 15th century, is a prominent representative of the painting of the Italian Renaissance. The artist’s appeal to mythological subjects was typical of this era. However, the master is original in the interpretation of antique images. The painting “Venus and Mars” is permeated with a deeply poetic attitude, the author subtly conveys the feelings of the characters.
Botticelli wrote his work for the Vespucci family, most likely in connection with the marriage of a representative of this famous Italian surname. The prototype of the beautiful goddess of love depicted on the canvas was Simonetta Vespucci.
The artist was passionately in love with this Florentine beauty, considered her the ideal of female beauty. Venus and Mars is another proof of Botticelli’s extraordinary talent. The work was a huge success among contemporaries, became a role model for painters of that time.
