The Italian Renaissance was one of the great times in terms of art. During this time Italy was known as the leader in everything from art to music and to science. Italy was shining during this time from the 14th century to the 16th century. It was during these years that Italy experienced a cultural change in result to the output of work they were doing.
During the Italian Renaissance period there was a painter by the name of Sandro Botticelli. He was an Italian painter during the early renaissance period. During his time, he produced amazing artwork. One of my favorites is a piece called The Birth of Venice (shown below)
The Birth of Venice by Sandro Botticelli
Photo from: http://www.uffizi.org/artworks/the-birth-of-venus-by-sandro-botticelli/
This painting is one of my favorites because it depicts not just one god but multiple gods. The center piece is of course Venus who is the goddess of love. She is newly born coming in on the shell naked. Nudity in this time and age was rarely shown due to christian beliefs. Due to the rise of humanism during this time, there was a type of resurrection of paintings involving nude characters. Venus is naked, covering her breast while one of the goddess of the seasons is waiting with a cape to clothe Venus. In my observation there are two goddess’s depicted in this painting as partially nude; both showing there left breast. I’m not sure if this is on purpose for a reason or just a coincidence. In my research of this painting I came to find that it may have been inspired by a poem…
“Of august gold-wreathed and beautiful
Aphrodite I shall sing to whose domain
belong the battlements of all sea-loved
Cyprus where, blown by the moist breath
of Zephyros, she was carried over the
waves of the resounding sea on soft foam.
The gold-filleted Horae happily welcomed
her and clothed her with heavenly raiment.” – Demetrios Chalkokondyles-
This poem depicts what is going on in the painting, this could be the inspiration of The Birth of Venice. The painting was actually created for the Medici family between 1482 and 1485.
Research from:
http://www.uffizi.org/artworks/the-birth-of-venus-by-sandro-botticelli/
http://historylists.org/art/10-finest-works-of-the-early-italian-renaissance-art.html
The Key to Happiness is Music and Art 
Keegan,
I really like “The Birth of Venice” by Botticelli as well. It is a beautiful painting of Renaissance art and I also think that it is so interesting it may have been inspired by a poem. You mention that “due to the rise of humanism during this time, there was a type of resurrection of paintings involving nude characters.” There are many painting reflecting human worth and realization but not too many with complete nudity. Another example of painting with nudity during the Renaissance period is Perseus and Andromeda by Giorgio Vasari.
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The Birth of Venus is a beautiful painting. During this time period it was the new norm to allow nudity in art, such as the sculpture David by Michaelangelo or Leda and the Swan by Leonardo da Vinci. In all cases where nudity was used, the artist did not choose to center the attention around the nudity itself. This allows for the viewer to understand nudity is only human and natural. Humanism was ideallized in these artists works. I notice that in most art, the women are portrayed as very pale, almost white, while men are often darker and more rugged. This adds another layer of humanism displaying women as more pure and soft, rather than the darker masculinity of men. I also appreciate that venus although new in the world still has an understanding of modesty, shown by her covering of one breast. When artists during this same time period portray children and babies, rarely do they show any understanding of modesty. I do not know if there is a cultural connection between these similarities of if it is just a coincedence.
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