“There are pictures of nude women that suggest no impure thoughts—I am well aware of that. … What I am trying to emphasize is the fact that Titian’s Venus is very far from being one of that sort.” What could elicit such a reaction from the great Mark Twain himself? Only the Venus of Urbino, one of the most beautiful and provocative women in the history of art.
Painted by Titian in 1538, the Venus of Urbino owes its name to a commission by the Duke of Urbino, who became its first owner. Titian’s masterpiece soon became well-known as one of the most iconic pieces of the High Renaissance. Through the use of more lifelike human qualities and a domestic setting, Titian allows the viewer to fully indulge in the eroticism and beauty embedded in his Venus, making the Venus of Urbino not only a timelessly beautiful piece but also one of the most influential pieces in art history.
The Renaissance saw a revival of all things Classical, including the depiction of the human nude. Whether sculpted or painted, such subject matter had been largely ignored during the Middle Ages. However, through color and composition, Titian created more lifelike qualities in his nude than had ever been seen in Classical eras, thus taking his piece to a previously unknown level of eroticism. Unlike Classical sculpture, which traps the soft and sensuous curves of the body in cold, hard, marble, Titian’s use of oil painting gave an entirely different effect to the nude. Painting in the Venetian tradition, Titian used rich color to create a very authentic and appealing depiction of the human body. The Venus is painted in a very soft, peachy pink color with subtle white highlights outlining the curves of her plump body. What was once milky, opaque marble became luminous, fleshy, and alive. The beautiful tresses of the Venus were no longer grooves in rock, but became malleable, wheat-like tresses, filled with color.
Along with the medium, Titian also used masterful composition to create the sensualism in Venus of Urbino. The composition’s particular use of line is one of its most defining features. The diagonal angle at which Venus is drawn allows her to be displayed in such a way that the viewer can visually experience every inch of her body. She isn’t shying away or curled up as if her personal privacy is being invaded. In fact, her eyes are alert, fixated on the viewer as if she is trying to lure someone into the canvas; she takes on a truly lustful attitude. Furthermore, in contrast to the pure white sheets and crimson couch, the salience of Venus’s body becomes even more evident. The fully clothed servants provide yet more contrast to the nakedness of Venus. Compositionally speaking, Venus of Urbino shows Titian’s incredible skill.
However, the setting rather than the composition is what allows us to see how innovative Titian’s piece truly was. Titian’s Venus is placed in a room: simply a lady in her boudoir. Contrary to what it may seem, the casualty of her domestic setting does not diminish the sensualism and lust in the piece, but rather elevates and enhances such feelings. This was a considerable break with the previous tradition of having a nude or a Venus being placed in a dreamlike or fantastic setting. The Venus’s intense accessibility comes from the fact that she is very plainly in her room. Unlike Botticelli’s Birth of Venus, you don’t have to find her sprouting in the middle of the ocean atop a shell, nor do you have to travel to grandiose temples to find the beautiful woman, as was the case with many Classical Greek sculptures—the Aphrodite of Cnidus and the Nike of Paionios, for example. The settings of Greek sculptures emphasize that the beautiful nude is not a woman, but a goddess, a celestial being, belonging to dreams and fantasies but not reality.
The familiar, ordinary setting of Venus of Urbino removes the mysticism associated with a goddess, allowing the piece to become more personal and perhaps more universal. The lust this piece evokes is felt by everyone. And because she isn’t somewhere holy or far-fetched, the “goddess” is obtainable to anyone who has an imagination. Such room for imagination and personal fantasies is what allows Titian’s Venus, despite being idealized, to become personalized. At first, the viewer sees exactly what Titian painted. However, soon this “domestic deity” becomes anything the viewer may imagine: a lover, a wife, or perhaps even a courtesan. This feeling goes beyond just her pose, which is why the Venus of Urbino is so captivating, and consequently, so influential.
The Venus of Urbino isn’t a rediscovery of the modern age, nor was it shunned after the Renaissance. Its influence can be seen throughout the history of art, in several styles and time periods. One of the most famous pieces directly influenced by the Venus of Urbino is Manet’s Olympia. In fact, Manet painted a rendition of Titian’s piece before creating Olympia in 1865 (in his rendition, though, Manet caused a scandal by using a prostitute as a model). Additionally, Henri Rousseau’s The Dream, painted in 1910, takes the reclining nude, a form and pose reminiscent of Titian’s Venus, to a surreal dream in the luscious tropics. Other artists such as Ingres and Velasquez studied Venus of Urbino at great lengths in order to create their masterpieces La Grande Odalisque and Rokeby Venus, respectively. As one can see, the Venus of Urbino was painted in the 16th century, but her legacy can be seen throughout art history.
Venus of Urbino is timeless and universal. Titian’s artistic genius created a piece that, nearly 500 years after being painted, still leaves people with wide eyes and gaping mouths, wanting to enter the canvas. The Venus of Urbino is still as seductive and enigmatic as she was in the 16th century.