The Birth of Venus, c. 1480
Sandro Botticelli
Tempera on canvas · 172.5 x 278.5 cm
Venus drifts ashore on a shell, weightless and freshly formed.
Botticelli's goddess drifts to shore on a shell, born of sea-foam, hair streaming in a wind blown by flying zephyrs. Painted around 1485 in luminous tempera, its flowing line and pale grace remain the defining image of Renaissance beauty.
What you're looking at
Painted in tempera on canvas, not on a wood panel, which was unusual in Florence at the time and leaves the surface matt rather than glossy. There is real gold in it: fine lines of it through her hair, and touches on the wings and the trees. Her anatomy is frankly impossible — the neck too long, the left shoulder sloping in a way no shoulder does, the whole body weightless. Botticelli chose line over anatomy every time, and the picture works because of it.
On a Frame TV
About 8:5, so this is one of the closest fits in the collection: the clean 3840 x 2160 crop takes a shallow trim from top and bottom and the composition is untouched. Pale, matt and even in tone — safe in a bright room, and large enough in scale to carry a whole wall.
Uffizi Gallery · Visit it in Florence →
- 4K master file (3840px+)
- Samsung Frame TV–ready crop
- Phone wallpaper crop
- Printable art card
Public domain · one .zip, no sign-up
The Birth of Venus is not a birth, and the gold in her hair is real →
More like this
Other works in the collection, starting with Sandro Botticelli.
