Zoe Dawson - Visual Art
mystery
to
the
woman.
Art
historian,
Robert
Rosenblum
wrote
“the
ambiguity
of
her
eyes,
that
seem
to
be
closed
but
that
a
close
look
reveals
that
she
is
awake
...
A
nude
who
could
be
asleep
or
awake
is
specially
formidable
for
a
male
viewer"
[10] .
A
sleeping
nude
gives
the
appearance
that
one
can
look
without
their
acknowledgement,
however
when
realizing
that
the
figure
is
awake,
there
is
an
added
excitement
and
thrill
at
looking
upon
the
painting.
The
buyer,
Napoleon
III,
was
a
famously
promiscuous
president
of
the
French
Republic.
Known
for
his
insatiable
sexual
appetite
and
for
legalizing
prostitution,
it
is
no
surprise
that
the
lustful
painting
appealed
to
the
emperor.
Cabanel’s
manipulation
of
the
composition
of
the
painting
goes
beyond
the
pose
of
the
nude,
however.
The
cherubs,
poised
over
the
Goddess’
body,
are
placed
in
a
tight
collection
of
bodies.
Spaced
close
together,
the
closest
cherubs
to
Venus
stare
lovingly
at
her
in
a
caring
way.
This
gives
an
immediate
sense
of
importance
to
the
main
figure
of
Venus,
drawing
the
viewer’s
eyes
back
to
her.
When
The
Birth
of
Venus
was
on
show,
Napoleon
III
bought
it
immediately.
This
alone
gives
us
the
knowledge
that
the
painting
was
well
liked:
an
emperor
would
not
buy
a
painting
that
was
not
popular.
The
Cabanel
was
thought
of
as
the
clear
winner,
in
terms
of
crowd
pulling
prowess
at
the
1863
salon
[11], .
The
careful
composition
of
the
figure,
positioned
in
a
classical
reclining
pose
but
with
an
erotic
air
gave
the
painting
an
exciting
quality
that
made
it
popular
with
both
the
public,
and
Napoleon
III
himself.
After
buying
The
Birth
of
Venus,
the
emperor
made
Cabanel
his
preferred
artist,
and
bought
multiple
paintings
from
him
in
the
coming
years.
11
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