The artistic importance in the 16th century of Tiziano Vecellio, known in English as Titian, is represented in the Uffizi by a magnificent series of paintings, mostly related to his youth and early adulthood.
Among the many portraits, a genre in which Titian excelled due to the vitality he was able to imprint in his characters, is the beautiful Flora, blonde and buxom, representing his ideal of beauty.
There are also works that testify to his connection with the ducal court of Urbino, such as the portraits of Francesco Maria della Rovere and his wife Eleonora Gonzaga, but above all the extraordinary Venus of Urbino, completed in 1538.
The painting was commissioned from Titian by Eleonora Gonzaga's son, Guidobaldo II della Rovere, who probably wanted to remind his wife, married when she was only ten years old, of her conjugal duties, including fidelity.
One can hardly remain indifferent to the allure of the nude young woman depicted, who seems to be looking at the viewer as she lies stretched out on red cushions. The contrast of the light colors of the maiden's skin and hair and the white sheet stands out against the bright color of the cushions and the dark drape behind her that divides the scene into two distinct areas. In the foreground is in fact the protagonist, while at the back of the room you notice two maids rummaging through a chest.
On the whole, the painting does not depict Venus as a goddess, but as a wealthy woman, judging by the setting of the scene, aware of her beauty that she unashamedly flaunts in her nudity, while waiting for her maids to bring her the clothes with which to be dressed. One is kneeling to look for something, while the other holds a luxurious gown on her shoulder.
Some elements of the painting have important symbolic meanings.
The small dog curled up at the feet of Venus refers to marital fidelity, the roses in her right hand are a symbol of beauty which, like the falling petals, sooner or later fades.
Here’s an interesting fact: The Venus of Urbino has been an enormous success in the history of art. It has been admired and imitated through the centuries by numerous painters, including Manet, who openly cited it as a model for his Olympia, a nude that caused a scandal in the bourgeois Paris of the late 19th century.
Language: English