This week's choice comes from my step mum, Susan.
It is she who influenced my love for fashion, design, and art as a child & we continue to share that love through hours of discussion about our latest obsessions, visits to mid-century modern homes, museum exhibits, and shopping trips where we ooh and ah over all of the beautiful things we find.
Susan has chosen The Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli...
As a teenager, I remember reading (maybe in a class on the Renaissance?) about The Birth of Venus, painted by Sandro Botticelli around 1482. This historical work proved impossible to forget, mostly because it has been incessantly reproduced in so many inappropriate and kitschy ways!
Part of the impetus to travel is the magic of seeing with one's own eyes works of art only read about, and years after becoming aware of The Birth of Venus, I got to see it in person.
After fortifying ourselves with Campari and olives at on outdoor cafe in the center of Florence, we plunged into the cacophony of tour groups (all lead by sturdy guides holding authoritative umbrellas) waiting to be admitted to the venerable Uffizi Gallery. The Uffizi, constructed in the 16th century, is one of the oldest museums in Europe. Once inside, we ignored most of the famous pieces (impossible to absorb, anyway, because of the crowds and noise) on our mission to find the gallery housing the Botticelli. And there it was, glorious and breathtaking, the image of the goddess Venus emerged from the sea. Seeing it in person was a heart-filling wonder and that afternoon's prize.
And of course there is an interesting, but typical back-story:
Sandro Botticelli was privately in love with his model, the beautiful Simonetta Cattaneo de Vespucci, mistress of Giuliano de Medici. Oh, and wife of Marco Vespucci!
- Susan
Thank you Susan!
To participate in I Heart Art, click here!
It is she who influenced my love for fashion, design, and art as a child & we continue to share that love through hours of discussion about our latest obsessions, visits to mid-century modern homes, museum exhibits, and shopping trips where we ooh and ah over all of the beautiful things we find.
Susan has chosen The Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli...
As a teenager, I remember reading (maybe in a class on the Renaissance?) about The Birth of Venus, painted by Sandro Botticelli around 1482. This historical work proved impossible to forget, mostly because it has been incessantly reproduced in so many inappropriate and kitschy ways!Part of the impetus to travel is the magic of seeing with one's own eyes works of art only read about, and years after becoming aware of The Birth of Venus, I got to see it in person.
After fortifying ourselves with Campari and olives at on outdoor cafe in the center of Florence, we plunged into the cacophony of tour groups (all lead by sturdy guides holding authoritative umbrellas) waiting to be admitted to the venerable Uffizi Gallery. The Uffizi, constructed in the 16th century, is one of the oldest museums in Europe. Once inside, we ignored most of the famous pieces (impossible to absorb, anyway, because of the crowds and noise) on our mission to find the gallery housing the Botticelli. And there it was, glorious and breathtaking, the image of the goddess Venus emerged from the sea. Seeing it in person was a heart-filling wonder and that afternoon's prize.
And of course there is an interesting, but typical back-story:
Sandro Botticelli was privately in love with his model, the beautiful Simonetta Cattaneo de Vespucci, mistress of Giuliano de Medici. Oh, and wife of Marco Vespucci!
- Susan
Thank you Susan!
To participate in I Heart Art, click here!
1 comment:
This picture is also one of my favorites! I have it hanging in my bedroom at my beach house.
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