Giorgione's Sleeping Venus (c.1510) Flashcards
Q: What is the subject matter of Giorgione’s Sleeping Venus (c.1510)?
A: The painting portrays a reclining nude Venus, one of the first of its kind in Western painting.
The figure’s profile and body echo the contours of the surrounding hills. This established the “erotic mythological pastoral” genre, often involving female nudes in landscapes.
date
1510
medium
Oil on canvas
Q: What is the significance of Sleeping Venus in the context of Western art history?
A: first known reclining nude in Western painting, setting a precedent for future depictions of female nudes in art.
It also introduced the concept of “poesia” – a painting that functions like poetry, evoking emotion and indirect meaning.
Q: How does Giorgione’s Sleeping Venus contribute to Venetian art?
The painting exemplifies the Venetian innovation of poesia, or “painted poetry,” where the artwork conveys emotions and allegory in a subtle and indirect manner.
It also helped establish the reclining nude as a key feature in Venetian painting, influencing future works by Titian and others.
Q: What were the changes discovered through x-ray analysis of Sleeping Venus?
A: X-rays revealed that the painting underwent changes during its creation, including alterations to the landscape, the drapery’s color, and the head of Venus.
The original composition showed Venus in profile, holding a bird, resembling Titian’s Pardo Venus.
Q: How is Venus identified in the painting?
A: Venus is identified by her association with Cupid, who was originally painted holding a bird, which was later covered. This detail was mentioned by contemporary sources and is visible in x-ray images, confirming Venus as the central figure.
Q: What is the formal composition of Sleeping Venus?
Venus occupies the entire width of the canvas
her arm stretching behind her head, creating a long, continuous slope of body.
sensual pose mirrors the rolling hills in the background, suggesting a connection between the figure and nature.
sensuality is heightened by her red lips and by the deep red velvet and white satin drapery upon which her creamy body lies
creamy body
hand reaches down to genitals
eyes shut
Q: What is the significance of Venus’s pose in Sleeping Venus?
The pose of Venus, with her left hand near her genitals, has been interpreted as an expression of sensuality and possibly fertility.
challenges traditional modesty and decorum, making it a provocative and sensual image in Renaissance art.
Q: How does Sleeping Venus relate to the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili?
connected to the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, a 1499 Venetian publication, where dreams and the idealized classical world are explored.
Her sleep and pose implies dreaming and transport of the figure to another world like Poliphilus, whose dream took him, accompanied by a nymph, through an imagined ancient bucolic world in the bestseller print by Aldus Manutius in Venice in 1499, the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili (The Dream of Poliphilus)
Venus’s sleep in the painting evokes a dream-like state, reinforcing the poetic nature of the work.
Q: How was the sleeping Venus figure interpreted in the Renaissance context?
The sleeping figure, often female, was more suited to the Venetian artistic style of using light and color to create stillness.
Q: How does the concept of Venus relate to fertility in Sleeping Venus?
Venus, as a symbol of fertility and love, was particularly relevant in marriage contexts.
The painting could have been a talisman for fertility, especially given its possible commission around the time of a marriage.
The sensual depiction may relate to hopes for a successful and fruitful union.
Q: what was happening in venice at this time
A: The painting emerged at a time when Venice was defending its claims on the mainland (terrafirma), and Venus may symbolically represent Venice itself.
The nude and dreamlike portrayal of Venus aligns with the contemplative nature of Venetian art, emphasizing beauty, sensuality, and mythology.
Q: What is the possible political allegory in Sleeping Venus?
A: Some art historians, like Michael Paraskos, suggest the painting may be an allegory for Cyprus, which was ceded to Venice in 1489.
The pose of Venus resembles the shape of Cyprus, and the surrounding landscape might evoke the views from the Lusignan summer palace, representing a longing for the island.
when did venice cede cyprus
1489.
Q: how does the painting reflect huimanist ideals?
- the revival of classical antiquity.
- Venus, a mythological figure, is depicted in a modern, sensual manner that blends classical references with Renaissance humanism.
- focus on the individual, depiction of woman sexuality breaking boundaries
- The work also embodies the influence of poetry and literature on art, such as the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili.
Q: How does Sleeping Venus relate to the Renaissance concept of poesia?
-prime example of poesia, a genre of painting in which the image evokes a mood or poetic feeling rather than telling a direct narrative.
- important in Venetian art, as it allowed artists to express themes and emotions subtly and indirectly, often drawing on mythological or literary sources.
Q: How does the use of oil paint and techniques in Sleeping Venus contribute to its aesthetic?
- of oil paint allowed him to blend and model colors more subtly, creating rich textures of drapery, suppleness of skin and a sense of depth.
-suppleness of skin enhanced through stfumato and glazing
-techniques helped enhance the sensual qualities of Venus’s skin and the dreamlike atmosphere of the scene, as oil paint enabled smoother transitions between light and shadow.
Q: What is the connection between Sleeping Venus and the classical tradition of Venus in art?
A: While Sleeping Venus draws on the classical tradition of representing Venus, the reclining nude form and her pose were innovative for its time.
The idea of Venus as a symbol of fertility and beauty remains, but her depiction in a reclining, sleeping pose adds a new, sensual dimension to the classical ideal.
Q: How does the interpretation of Venus’s pose in Sleeping Venus reflect societal views on women and sexuality in Renaissance Venice?
Venus’s pose, while sensual, reflects Renaissance ideals of femininity, where women were often idealized in a passive, objectified manner.
Her sleep can be seen as a metaphor for passivity, while her sensual gestures challenge the notion of women as purely modest or chaste, offering a more complex view of female sexuality
(humanism- exploring the individual, diverts away from women as passive objects as men, they actualluy have their own sexual desires)
critical quote
the reclining female nude became a distinctive feature of Venetian painting” (Bull).
where on grid
Mythological (2D or 3D), venice
what genre did this painting establish
“the genre of erotic mythological pastoral”
with female nudes in a landscape, accompanied in that case by clothed males.
who painted the covered up cupid holding a bird
painted by Titian
