The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 16, 2024

The Birth of Venus

The Birth of Venus

c. 1516
(Italian, c. 1486–1527)

after Raphael

(Italian, 1483–1520)
Italy, 16th century
engraving
Gift of Ralph King 1923.1101
Catalogue raisonné: Bartsch XIV.243.323 ; Le Blanc II.111.17 ; Pass. VI.69.31
Location: not on view

Description

Marco Dente was one of several printmakers who re-created Raphael’s designs as engravings. Both of Dente’s compositions after Raphael (see also the engraving above) relate to the latter’s frescos in the stufetta, or bathroom, of Cardinal Bernardo Dovizi da Bibbiena’s apartments in the Vatican Palace. A scholar of classical antiquity and a patron of the arts, the Cardinal personally chose these mildly erotic female nudes, a common subject in bathroom decorations, even for members of the clergy. Depicted here is Venus, the goddess of love and fertility. According to the myth of her birth, she was created in sea foam from the castrated genitals of the primeval sky god Uranus. In the clouds, Uranus’s son Saturn, the god of time, prepares to mutilate his father with a curved sword. Meanwhile, Venus steps out of frothy waves onto a seashell.
  • Gods and Heroes: Ancient Legends in Renaissance Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 26-December 31, 2017).
    Main Gallery Rotation (gallery 117): October 7, 2013 - January 21, 2014.
    Early Italian Engraving: 1460's - 1530's. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 25-October 27, 2002).
    Drawn to the Body: The Human Figure and the Graphic Arts, 1500-1900. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 14-May 23, 1999).
    The Sea. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 23-October 25, 1950).
    Miscellaneous Prints and Drawings from the Museum Collections. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (June 23-October 23, 1924).
  • {{cite web|title=The Birth of Venus |url=false|author=Marco Dente, Raphael|year=c. 1516|access-date=16 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1923.1101