today we bring you...Scantily clad women on the Beach! Just like Baywatch, but without all that boring dialogue.
Seriously...For one of the TTMBWIAHOAT you can hardly beat venus, the goddess of love. Of course there is no more famous version than that created by Botticelli, as a matter of fact it has been the trademark image on Adobe Illustrator for the last ten years. Botticelli was an early Renaissance master who was more concerned witht he tactile feel of his paintings than the exact representation of the image. Take a look at the fabric and the way it's portrayed. The whole image is on the busy side, a kinda hectic composition. You would hardly notice the woman in the middle if she wasn't nude and standing on a giant seashell. On a side note, according to Greek Mythology, venus was born fully grown from the sea and blown to shore by the winds, that's those winged guys on the left. Nymphs came out of the forest to dress her, that's the girl on the right. The whole cast is here. The halfshell is an old idea that goes back to greek art, but isn't in the myth. You'll notice also that Venus has this certain kinda stance, her right leg bends up, her weight shift to her other leg...her head turns to the other direction. all of these things are features of Classical, that is Greek and Roman art. Botticelli was one of these important artists that was attempting to revive ancient art, that's what the renaissance was all about. Up until this time, most of the art was of Mary and the saints, but here is a purely mythological scene taken from classical stories. On top of this...botticelli adds a graphic flair that is absolutely wonderful. The ocean is rendered with simple V-shapes to represent waves, the trees run ramrod straight up and down. And the foreground is flattened out to the point that the nymph on the right doesn't even look like she standing on anything at all, she kinda floats there. I have to admit, as a designer, this is one of my all time favorite paintings. Botticelli's flat graphic style is a lot more like looking at a tapestry than a painting, and it shouldn't surprise you that he was influenced by tapestries. One last note...our venus here is no Pamela Lee, and for that we should all be grateful.