Zoe Dawson - Visual Art
It
is
1.72
by
2.78m,
quite
a
large
painting,
and
is
done
on
canvas.
Painting
on
canvas
was
cheaper,
and
thus
it
tended
to
hang
in
country
villas,
where
social
events
and
functions
were
less
significant
than
those
in
the
city
palaces.
This
suggests
that
when
painting
the
Birth
of
Venus,
Botticelli
had
been
specifically
instructed
to
paint
upon
canvas
[15] .
The
scale
of
the
painting
is
large,
however
it
is
not
as
sizable
as
some
of
those
he
painted
for
the
Medici’s
city
houses,
such
as
the
Primavera
(1482)
[Appendix
5]
.
This
tells
us
that
Botticelli
was
aware
of
where
the
painting
would
be
placed,
and
chose
the
scale
of
the
piece
in
order
to
maximize
the
pleasure
of
the
Medici
family.
Being
placed
in
a
country
villa,
Botticelli
would
not
have
wanted
the
painting
to
seem
offensive
in
its
size,
as
a
house
in
the
country
would
have
been
used
for
relaxation,
and
the
artwork
should
fit
that
mood.
The
scale
and
size
of
the
painting
also
helps
to
make
Venus
the
main
subject
of
the
piece.
She
is
depicted
as
being
life-‐
sized,
which
means
standing
up
against
the
painting
would
make
the
viewer
feel
as
though
he
could
look
into
her
eyes,
allowing
her
beautiful
face
to
awe
the
audience,
and
create
a
sense
of
wonder
for
the
Goddess.
It
is
probable
that
Botticelli
was
instructed
to
create
an
impressive
painting
that
they
could
show
off
to
their
guests
and
Botticelli
used
the
scale
to
do
this.
Lorenzo
de
Medici
commissioned
Botticelli
due
to
his
talent
and
skill.
With
the
intention
of
having
an
impressive
art
collection,
he
gave
Botticelli
the
task
of
creating
a
large
and
magnificent
painting,
which
was
done
through
its
size.
Another
of
the
criteria
that
the
Medici
would
have
specified
when
commissioning
the
painting
was
its
subject
matter,
which
brings
me
onto
the
second
investigation
of
the
Botticelli:
it’s
literature
inspiration
‘The
Birth
of
Venus”
by
Angelo
Polizan.
Aim
Two:
To
depict
the
Narrative
as
told
in
‘The
birth
of
Venus”
by
Angelo
Poliziano
14
90