The Birth of Venus
c. 1484–1486 · Tempera on canvas · Uffizi Gallery, Florence
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About this work
- Artist
- Sandro Botticelli (c. 1445–1510)
- Year
- c. 1484–1486
- Medium
- Tempera on canvas
- Original size
- 172.5 × 278.5 cm
- Collection
- Uffizi Gallery, Florence
- Movement
- Renaissance
Venus stands on a scallop shell at the edge of the sea, modestly covering herself with her hands and hair, as the wind god Zephyr and a companion blow her toward the shore where a figure of Spring waits with a flowered cloak. Botticelli painted it in Florence in the mid-1480s, probably for a member of the Medici family, on canvas rather than the usual panel. It is one of the first large-scale paintings of a classical nude since antiquity, drawn from an ancient sculptural type and from poetry by Poliziano and Homeric hymns. The flattened, linear style and pale tempera colours, with gold on the hair and leaves, give it a floating quality. The painting is in the Uffizi, where it hangs near Botticelli's Primavera.
This print reproduces the whole work, uncropped, from a high-resolution scan of the original. The original is in the public domain.
Where it works
Pale tempera tones and gold on the hair give this a lightness suited to a bedroom or bathroom with soft light, over a bed or bath at 24×16. Natural wood on white or sea-green keeps the floating quality; a black frame weighs it down.
Style, size & framing detail
- Style
- Renaissance painting
- Era
- 15th century (c. 1484–1486)
- Orientation
- Landscape
- Mood
- grand
- Rooms
- bedroom, bathroom, living room, dining room
- Good gift for
- housewarming, anniversary, art lovers
Size. We'd hang this one at 24×16. Prints at 18×12, 24×16 in — 18×12 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 24×16 above a console or sideboard.
Framing. The gallery ground is part of the print, so frame it without a mat — black suits the deep tones of this period; natural wood lightens it.
Pairing. Pairs as a set of three with other famous painting prints (10% off three or more).
Details & materials
Shipping & returns
Is this the whole painting, or a crop?
Is The Birth of Venus in the public domain?
What is it printed on?
When was The Birth of Venus painted, and in what medium?
What size works above a sofa or bed?
About this design
The Madten promise
An exhibition poster
The same artwork as a gallery exhibition poster — title, artist & date typeset beneath the image on a soft ground.























