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<p align="center">Venus of Urbino</p>
<p align="center"><a href="http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/venus.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-3267" alt="Venus of Urbino" src="http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/venus-300x214.jpg" width="300" height="214" /></a></p>
<p align="center"><span style="text-decoration: underline"><a href="http://www.students.sbc.edu/drahman08/venusofurbino.html">http://www.students.sbc.edu/drahman08/venusofurbino.html</a></span></p>
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<p align="center">Painted by Titian in 1538</p>
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         During the Renaissance era there were two main things that were focused on, which were bringing back the style of the Greeks and Romans and celebrating the myriad of qualities regarding humans. This painting emphasizes the part of humanity that is the tabooed desire of the woman’s figure and the controversial look in her eye that is bold and relaxed at the same time. The focus of the piece is a woman naked on top of her sheets, her body has no imperfections. There is a small dog sleeping at the foot of the bed. There are two servants in the background, neither are looking at her. She has on some simple jewelry. The artists of the time “carried portraiture to new heights of refined perception and rich color and light.” (“Portraiture) This painting shows much realism in Venus’s figure and on her facial expression. There was a renewed interest in humanity and the development of people. The work Venus of Urbino by Titian should be preserved because it can teach it’s viewer that the idea of beauty is constantly evolving.

Although many people have tried to place deeper meaning on this painting, there was a high demand for paintings of women in the nude. It was a supply meeting a demand. At the time many people found it ungentlemanly to have it and would hide it from public knowledge that they owned this type of art work. In the Renaissance period they were very intrigued by the “passions” of people. He was able to set a standard for the figure of women that many tried to imitate. (Freund) This work was unusual because Venus was more relaxed looking than most of the other women he painted. In it’s time it was what the people wanted but rarely voiced their desire for.  It was unusual because it was more rare, than other less seductive portraits. Josef Grabski believes like many paintings of the time named after a certain person or attribute Venus of Urbino was named from a love sonnet by Vittoria Colona.

There was high demand for nude paintings for bedroom decoration. Although it was not a piece that was show cased at parties, it was more kept low key because it was looked down on to own that kind of art. Other interpretations said it was simply a figure of lust believing there could be no other reason for a pretty full figured woman to be laying on her bed as such. Still others thought it is a picture of the love and oneness found in marriage. Some modern students think it was almost the beginning of the “pornographic” era. According to Lisa Jardine, the Dean of the faculty of arts at Queen Mary and Wesfield College, art of this kind was kept hidden and burned if discovered. Now with the positioning of the woman we see the figure is not lascivious it is simple beauty in it’s most pure humanly form. There can be many figurative understandings from taken from the painting. Jozef Grabski for instance sees the red comforter representative of love on top of the white sheets symbolizing purity. The red roses in her hand which could symbolize passion, but one has fallen and could perhaps be seen as the death of her lover.

At first glance it was nothing too spectacular. But the further I looked into it the more appealing it became. The way Venus looks directly to the viewer, her head cocked in an almost shy way, her soft facial expression, it all brings you into the portrait. The room feels peaceful with the dog sleeping and the setting sun in the background. I was curious about the two women in the background, and why our subject was so nonchalant about them being in her room. I think it is meaningful because it gives us a glimpse into what was eye catching to those in the Renaissance era. It is important to remember that sometimes things that we may not consider art at the moment can become a special piece when tested with time. I believe this is a fine example of something risque and not necessarily socially acceptable at the time turning into a lesson as well as something beautiful. (Grabski)

Titian as a newly blooming artist became acquainted with Giorgione, whom he evidently worked on other art pieces with. So often Titian’s pieces are compared to that of early pieces of Giorgione. The example that comes up time and time again is the very close, nearly identical painting of Giorgione’s Sleeping Venus as it compares to the Venus of Urbino. Titian completed the piece for Giorgione after his death (Grabski). Titian copied almost the same posture of Venus into his own piece. There are several of the same nuances between the two works, but many differences that make Titian’s piece a bit more modern for the time. Sleeping Venus (SV) is outside whereas Venus of Urbino (VU) is indoors in what appears to be a bedroom. This brings the sensuality a little closer to home for the viewer, an attractive full figured woman in the room is easier to imagine to the viewer, than simply seeing one out in the fresh air. SV has her eyes closed and her arm up and around the back of her head while VU looks directly into the viewers eyes and is hold a small cluster of flowers. In both pieces the woman is at the foreground of the picture as the main focus taking up nearly the entire canvas.

<a href="http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/venus-2.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-3271 aligncenter" alt="Sleeping Venus" src="http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/venus-2-300x168.jpg" width="300" height="168" /></a>
<p align="center"><span style="text-decoration: underline"><a href="http://b.vimeocdn.com/ts/371/631/371631009_640.jpg">http://b.vimeocdn.com/ts/371/631/371631009_640.jpg</a></span></p>
Other generations should be aware that this painting has many types of interpretations and how important it is to search for the answer and the metaphors it is presenting before jumping to the conclusion that it is simply a naked woman laying on a bed. It is amazing how art is able to change with the times. When the image was painted it was a beautiful usage of newly introduced techniques and the portrayal of the peak of interest. While it may have been considered pornography at the time in some circles, many were able to see the beauty that was held in the image. As time has gone on, we are now able to see on a much larger scale the way it defines the past to us. We can see the painting for what it really is. Although it may still evoke certain feelings when you look at it, your perception changes because nudity is more widely accepted in the western world.

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<p align="center">Works Cited</p>
Freund, Charles Paul. “Buying Into Culture.” <i>Reason. </i>Jun 1998. Web.

Is a journal that discusses how convienience and economy has a larger effect on art than personal expression does. I used it to show what people nowadays see in the painting.

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Grabski, Jozef<i>. </i>“Victoria Amoris.” <i>Artibus et Historiae. </i>Vol.20, No.40, 1999. Web.

This is a journal within the collection which goes into great detail talking about the meticulous detail and meaning behind everything in the painting. I used it to discuss some of the meaning of the painting.

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“Portraiture.” <i>Funk &amp; Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia. 2009.</i><i></i>

This was a section in this encyclopedia it discussed the different ways the style of portraits were executed during certain times in history. I used it to discuss how the interest in human shape was peaked during the renaissance period.<i></i>

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“Venus of Urbino.” <i>Artstor</i>.  Digital Library. Sep 2013.

This is a detailed library where I extracted the basic information about the piece.