Thank you for your report!
We have received your report and it is currently under investigation by a forum moderator.
Make Love not War
Welcome to the forum.
Here you can discuss all things art with like-minded artists, join regular painting challenges, ask questions, buy and sell art materials and much more.
Make sure you sign in or register to join the discussions.
Hang on Studio Wall
This is a Studio member-only feature!
Join our Studio membership and save your favourite Painters Online content, from gallery artwork to step-by-step guides, to your own online mood boards. Create your go-to place for inspiration and learning. Plus, members can also enjoy a range of exciting features including monthly art videos and a digital magazine library.
If you are already a Studio member, simply login to your account.
Not a Studio member? Why not try our free 30-day trial - no commitment, no credit card required
Message
Posted
We had a good lecture in our Village Hall given by one of our residents who is a visiting lecturer at the National Gallery. She spoke about 10 of the picures in the collection. She gave some surprising interpretations - to me at any rate - of some of the paintings.
One of these surprises concerned Venus and Mars a painting by Botticelli - here's a link to view it.
[url=http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/cgi-bin/WebObjects.dll/CollectionPublisher.woa/wa/largeImage?workNumber=NG915&col
lectionPublisherSection=work]Venus and Mars[/url]
It was a popular theme often hung in bridal bedrooms. It shows Venus the Goddess of love and her suitor Mars the God of War having just made love. Mars has slumped on his back exhausted - a satyr blowing a horn in his ear is unable to wake him.. Venus though sits up alert and invigorated.
It would have readily evoked a nudge nudge, wink wink, reaction from the Florentine cognoscenti of Botticelli's day. And I was always told the painting depicted the timeless assertion that love and beauty will always triumph over war and ugliness. How innocent we all were in my youth.