Sleeping Venus
Giorgione, c. 1501
oil on canvas, 108,5 × 175 cm
Gemäldegalerie
The Sleeping Venus, also known as Dresden Madonna, is an influential painting by the Italian Renaissance master Giorgione, c. 1501. It is housed in the Gemäldegalerie, Dresden.
The painting, one of the last Giorgione's works, portrays a naked woman whose profile seems to follow that of the hills in the background. Giorgione put a great attention in painting the background details and shadows. The choice of a naked woman marked a revolution in art, and is considered by some authorities one of the starting points of modern art.
The Venus of Urbino , Titian(1538)
It was unfinished at the time of his death and the sky was later finished by Titian. (Titian also painted a similar Venus, but it is not as agitated and unsettled as Giorgione's nude.)
Underlying erotic implications can be seen by the Venus' raised arm (the exposed arm pit a symbol of sexuality) and the placement of her left hand. The sheets are a silver color (a cold color rather than a more commonly used warm tone) and they are rigid looking (in comparison to Titian's or Velázquez's Venus'). The landscape mimic the curves of the nude and this in turn relates the human body back to a natural, organic object.
The contemplative attitude towards nature and beauty of the figure is typical of Giorgione. The composition influenced later painters such as Titian, Rubens and Ingres.
Mythology Images
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