Venuses and the Audience
Usually understanding a painting seems to be more dependent on the factors of visuals and interpretations, but each painting might appeal differently to the different groups of people. We tend to get engrossed in a painting or get curious about it because we connect with it. Not compulsory that we connect to it because of our own experiences, on a personal level but because we have our set of ideologies when it comes to the society we live in. Not denying that there is a boundary already given to us by the artist that we have to keep in mind while observing the painting. An initial brief is provided to us, the extended understanding is our personal views.
What makes a painting talk to people; it’s not only the visuals, the brush strokes, the history, colors, shapes, size, the description given by the artist, or what we have concluded out of it. It’s not only one factor, it’s all the above. Therefore: The expressions of an artwork are not only about the visual aesthetics, it involves the perspective of the artist and the perceptions of the audience. The 3 paintings I am studying are Olympia by Manet, Venus of Urbino by Titian, and sleeping Venus by Giorgione. These paintings talk about Venus as their common subject.
Sleeping Venus, made by Giorgione. The painting was made in the High Renaissance period. It portrays the concept of “the genre of erotic mythology pastoral” [2]. A theory says that Titian was the one who completed the planting after the death of Giorgione in 1510. It is said that the landscape and the surroundings were made by Giorgione and scholars believe that the nude figure of Venus was made by Titian [1]. Sleeping Venus is one of the last works of Giorgione.
The painting portrays a nude woman; her body structure seems to represent the rolling contours of the hills in the background. It is said to be one of the first paintings that shows a reclining nude woman during that era. In that era, a painting of a single nude woman in any position for such a large scale (42.7 in x 69 in) seemed to be a very unconventional form of painting. Sleeping Venus is also known as Dresden Venus [4].
Sleeping Venus is oil on canvas; the dimensions of the painting are 42.7 in x 69 in. Giorgione was known as an artist who was inspired by nature and always tried to depict his fascination with it in his painting. One can see the same in Sleeping Venus painting as he has tried to mimic the landscape to the body of the nude lady [3]. The painting is dominated by warm tones and the elements of nature. The fabric, on which Venus is laying, makes the work look more elegant and in unity with the background as it merges with the natural and flowing curves of the surrounding. The use of light and color in the painting tends to enhance the emotions of the painting. Sleeping Venus as a whole painting depicts a warm tone but the sheets on which Venus is resting seem to be different from the rest. Instead of the warming tones, one can see that it has been painted using cold tones like silver, which is used to add the sense of flow and serene to the image [3].
Venus of Urbino was made by Titian in 1534. It was made in the Renaissance period. The painting depicts a young nude woman traditionally identified as goddess Venus, lying on a bed. The surrounding of the painting shows palaces interiors [5]. The posture of the young nude woman is inspired by the painting Sleeping Venus, Titian has given a different sense to the painting by moving her into an indoor space and making her engage with the viewers through her sensual eye contact. It is said that in this painting Venus does not represent any attributes of a goddess but depicts sensuality and eroticism. The dimensions of the painting (46.85 in x 64.96 in) did not follow the conventional norms of that era.
Venus of Urbino is oil on canvas; the dimensions of the painting are 46.85 in x 64.96 in. In this painting, Venus stares straight at the viewer but in a very sly manner. Her facial expression might make the viewer question what the expression means? Seduction, statement, indifference. Her stare also states that she is not concerned with her nudity. The details of the interiors seem to be fascinating and also seem to be stating a statement or telling a story. In the painting, Titian contrasts the straight lines of the architecture with the curves of the woman. The scene behind Venus tends to give layers to the painting. The colors and the details tend to enhance the different layers. The color palette used for the painting seems to be a mix of warm and cold tones. The two tones create a balance and prevent from making the painting from overwhelming. One can see that Titian has given a lot of emphasis on the details from the floral patterns on the bed to the wrinkles of the white sheet, the layering of the background. Even though he has taken an actual woman as his subject, to an extent one can see that he has tried to show her as an idealistic woman.
“Olympia” by Edouard Manet is a modern art done in 1865, is oil on canvas. The canvas is 51.4 x 74.8 inches, which is large for this style of painting. Most paintings that were this size depicted historical or mythological events; the size of the work surprises the viewer. The painting seems to be breaking the conventional rules followed by most of the painters.
Manet can be considered as one of the artists whose paintings are considered to be in the context of “the everyday life”. He made paintings about daily life but also stated statements and asked questions about society through them. One will notice that he would make the main subject of his painting be in direct contact with the viewer. Olympia itself, the nude woman maintains eye contact with the audience and it’s not a sly look but a dominant one which makes the viewer uncomfortable and confronted.
Olympia was modeled by Victorine Meurent. It has been stated that Manet had copied the posture from the painting Venus of Urbino of Titian. Olympia was a name associated with prostitutes in 1860s Paris. The painting shows Olympia as a naked woman leaning on the pillow and a servant is shown passing a bouquet to her, one can also see a cat near the foot. During 1860s black cats symbolized prostitution.
Other things that indicated Olympia as a prostitute include the orchid in her hair, her bracelet, pearl earrings, and the oriental shawl on which she lies, The black ribbon around her neck, is in contrast with her pale flesh, and her slipper showing her as a sexually attractive woman. The painting seems to be flat and two-dimensional because of the color, brush strokes, and lack of finer details. The features of Olympia have not been idolized or perfected, face and the body of Olympia are of real women, her facial features are not symmetrical and her lips are thin. She does not have a well-defined jawline. Her hair to me seems to be rough and it has not been stylized. Even when one looks at the naked body of Olympia her muscles are not toned.
The posture of Olympia shows her hands to be stiff and in a blocking position.it seems as if she is putting a restriction on the viewers. She is restricting the views from looking at her without any hesitation. It seems like she is trying to show her authority. Her posture also shows the confidence she has. When one looks at the surrounding it seems to be very simple and realistic, it looks like a real apartment. It has dull wallpaper with a dark green curtain, a bed with a messy bed sheet, and a blanket. Olympia’s nakedness is emphasized by the pale colors. The lighting of the painting is done in such a way that Olympia is standing out. The background is painted in dull and dark color indicating that Manet wanted to make the viewer see Olympia as the main subject.
Sleeping Venus, Venus of Urbino and Olympia have some similarities and differences. Some of the similarities are the huge dimensions of the painting, the painting style, the positions, their subject (Venus). During that era, such large canvas was usually used to show the optimistic view of the society like the mythologies, achievements of the past, historical events and also the riches. The dimension of these three painting they all are almost very similar and the subject of the painting is more realistic and society based. Dimensions were one of the reasons, many people got attracted to these paintings as they broke the conventional rules. The color palate of the three painting is different but do have some similarities in terms of lighting and use of cold tones to emphasize the subject. All the three talk about Venus in a different context but do tend to depict the concept of sexuality. They all have an uneven mix of a flat and layering style of painting.
The artists have tried to talk about their concepts through these paintings by the postures, eye contact, and other elements. These paintings have objects that have symbolic meaning to them.
Sleeping Venus visually is a very calm painting. The posture of the leaning nude woman seems to be very harmonious to the surrounding. As said before her curves are mimicking the curves of the mountains. She does not have eye contact with the viewer so it gives the audience a perception that she is not bothered by her surroundings and they also feel comfortable looking at her nude figure. It also gives her an air of aloofness; one also has a feeling that she is unattainable. The sense of sensuality and seduction reduces as her eyes are closes. The painting at first may seem to be flat but when we concentrate on the figure (Venus) one can see the layering of tone. The background does have a layering of colors but it is done with flat and simple strokes.
On the other hand, Titian's work, Venus of Urbino has a completely different approach to it. The surrounding is a mix of straight lines and organic curves. The detailing is done to show the different layers of the painting and to make the painting look richer. In this painting, the posture of the subjects seems to be more involved with the viewer. The body is bent a bit ahead. There is eye contact between the subject of the painting (Venus) and the audience. Her eyes are not directly looking at the audience; she is looking at them from the corner of her eye that gives her a very seductive and sensual look. Because of the eye contact, it tends to interact with the audience and make them think about questions like is she seductively looking at them or she is just being playful? is she trying to state a statement? , or is she trying to point out the indifference? is her expression for the material love or the lust?. This painting not only talks about seduction and lust but also mentions the materialistic want.
“Olympia” stands to be a very different painting and also challenging, because it does make a viewer feel a little uncomfortable at first as the naked woman ‘Olympia’ is looking at him or her directly. One will also notice that she has an expression that indicates as if she is looking at you and thinking about something. The posture of the figure (Venus) seems rigid, she is dominant. She has a direct eye contact with the viewer and no one can escape that. One will feel uncomfortable looking at the painting because of the stiffness of the posture too. In the painting, the brushwork done is different as we see the colors don’t seem to be merging with one another completely. The quick brushstrokes, not having mush mid-tones, large color surfaces are some of the other points that make the painting different.
The way the audience perceives a work is affected by his or her upbringing, their ideologies, the surrounding they live in and the different time period, the experiences too. There will always be two sides to a coin, in this context people who agree with the artist’s concept and have an extended point of view along with his and another set of people who will be against it. According to me, these thinking processes keep changing with the changing times. For example, in this day and age we all are opening up to the concepts of homosexuals but if we discuss the same with our elders they will not be willing enough to accept it. Similarly, these painting might have told different stories to the previous generations but it presents its self to us in a different way as the times have changed. The concept of knowledge about the painting and the history also affects our perceptions about the painting. The earlier generation might connect or know more about the painting because of its history, they would understand the reason why the painting was made in a particular way in terms of its history whereas today’s generation mostly connects because of the visuals. They might not be able to connect the dots of the past because of lack of knowledge.
For example, Olympia was seen as a scandal as it was not acceptable to society at that time. It talked about that part of society that existed but was not identified because of which it wasn’t considered a work of art. But today we tend to go back to these paintings and analyze them to understand the change. These paintings describe certain phenomena’s that exist visually, contextually and they also tend to ask questions. These questions have opened no answer is wrong or right till we can justify it.
According to me, Sleeping Venus talks about beauty, perfection, nature, aesthetics, calmness, aloofness, sexuality, goddess, allowing, choices, and simplicity but does pose a question of how complex is the term “simplicity”. I also feel that it takes about feelings, tells that feelings are a natural “no one can fake it at the moment”. Whereas Venus of Urbino gives a completely different vibe it expresses royalty, goddess, detailing, persuasion, sexuality, society’s structure, believes, seduction, allowing, questing, mocking, one may be a bit uncomfortable, it shows the slyness we all have, perfection, ideal situations. The painting makes me question the subject’s intentions and also that is it I who is thinking in that way is it my mind that’s sly. While studying Olympia its completely different talks about reality, the real situations, prostitution, dullness, dominance, restriction’s, it has objects that make a mind wonder why is it there, makes a viewer feel uncomfortable, unwelcomed, the figure is also not idealized, harshness, feeling that one needs permission, it talks about the pleasure but not in a sugar-coated manner. It makes people question the society. They tend to feel like they are disrespecting her when they look at her.
A painting always tells a story that can be happy, sad, tragic, hidden, detailed descriptions of the past, themed, and so on. It can just be describing how one feels too. The meaning of this story changes a bit when we start connecting and perceiving them, a sad painting might talk positively to someone and a happy one might make someone think about the lost times.
We all might perceive the paintings differently because of multiple factors but we never lose their essence. All these factors tend to keep these paintings alive. We only understand a painting's expression when we understand the artist’s expression and start to express ourselves towards it.
Bibliography:
1) Joannides, 180–181; Hale, 96–97; Loh, 18–19,
2) Bull, 62 quoted, 208–211
3) https://www.artble.com/artists/giorgione/paintings/sleeping_venus
4) Bull, 62; Sandro Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus was one important large standing nude, though whether Giorgione or Titian knew of it is unsure
5) Goffen (1997a), 83–84
https://www.artble.com/artists/giorgione/paintings/sleeping_venus
https://www.mtholyoke.edu/courses/rschwart/hist255-s01/courtesans/Manet-olympia.htm
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