DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.31769#0091
actual arrival of Venus along with the secondary figures
involved. Therefore, as before in La Primavera, the artist
draws on a formal model that has nothing to do with
the story of Venus, as far as its contents are concerned.
In fact Botticelli’s composition, with Venus and the
Hora placed to her right, corresponds to a pictorial
structure that was very commonly found in fifteenth-
century Italian pamtings depicting the Baptism of
Christ (see p. 91). Venus in Botticelli’s painting, like
Christ at his baptism, remains relatively immobile in the
centre of the picture space, while the Hora, stepping
forward with her right arm outstretched, occupies a
similar position to that of John the Baptist. 71
It is clear from our observations thus far that both the
artist and the artist’s patron wanted to capture a particu-
lar moment, namely the arrival of Venus, and not her
birth. Particularly noteworthy in this context are the
roses which are caught in the wind on the left and strewn
across the sea. They may be regarded as the roses of
Venus and of love triumphant as they were described by
the Greek poets, in the writings of Anacreon and others.
From Hesiod’s Theogony we learn, in addition, that Venus
(Aphrodite) owed her existence to an act of cruel vio-
lence. At the behest of his mother, Saturn (Cronus) stole
Anemone, known as the wind-
flower since ancient times
9 2
involved. Therefore, as before in La Primavera, the artist
draws on a formal model that has nothing to do with
the story of Venus, as far as its contents are concerned.
In fact Botticelli’s composition, with Venus and the
Hora placed to her right, corresponds to a pictorial
structure that was very commonly found in fifteenth-
century Italian pamtings depicting the Baptism of
Christ (see p. 91). Venus in Botticelli’s painting, like
Christ at his baptism, remains relatively immobile in the
centre of the picture space, while the Hora, stepping
forward with her right arm outstretched, occupies a
similar position to that of John the Baptist. 71
It is clear from our observations thus far that both the
artist and the artist’s patron wanted to capture a particu-
lar moment, namely the arrival of Venus, and not her
birth. Particularly noteworthy in this context are the
roses which are caught in the wind on the left and strewn
across the sea. They may be regarded as the roses of
Venus and of love triumphant as they were described by
the Greek poets, in the writings of Anacreon and others.
From Hesiod’s Theogony we learn, in addition, that Venus
(Aphrodite) owed her existence to an act of cruel vio-
lence. At the behest of his mother, Saturn (Cronus) stole
Anemone, known as the wind-
flower since ancient times
9 2