Titian (Tiziano Vecellio), Venus of Urbino, 1538Uffizi, Florence
(Source)
Continuing on from the pudica theme, Venus of Urbino is an example where the gesture is clearly there to titillate rather than conceal. In fact, the way that Venus has her hand slightly curled over her pubis so enraged (or entertained?) Mark Twain that he wrote a fairly entertaining account of it. Venus is a pretty interesting piece due to its infamy and there's a lot of academic debate about various aspects.
The painting was commissioned in 1538 by Guidobaldo della Rovere, Duke of Urbino. The pose of Venus is clearly modelled after Giorgione's Sleeping Venus, in particular the controversial hand gesture. Other indications that this is Venus (the Goddess) are the flowing blonde hair and the roses in her hand. However, there are many other items iconographically associated with Venus that are missing, e.g. Cupid, oranges etc.
According to Rona Goffen, the piece was supposed to be an 'instructive' present for the duke's young wife, basically telling her that to be a good wife, she had to be up for the nookie. In support of this hypothesis is the domestic scene in the background of maids rifling through some cassoni (bridal chests) and the dog at Venus' feet. Dogs are iconographically considered a sign of fidelity, and this dog was also seen in a portrait of Guidobaldo's mother. But the dog is sleeping - taken as a sign of infidelity, and it also made an appearance in a later painting by Titian of Zeus' seduction of Danae.
(Source)
Continuing on from the pudica theme, Venus of Urbino is an example where the gesture is clearly there to titillate rather than conceal. In fact, the way that Venus has her hand slightly curled over her pubis so enraged (or entertained?) Mark Twain that he wrote a fairly entertaining account of it. Venus is a pretty interesting piece due to its infamy and there's a lot of academic debate about various aspects.
The painting was commissioned in 1538 by Guidobaldo della Rovere, Duke of Urbino. The pose of Venus is clearly modelled after Giorgione's Sleeping Venus, in particular the controversial hand gesture. Other indications that this is Venus (the Goddess) are the flowing blonde hair and the roses in her hand. However, there are many other items iconographically associated with Venus that are missing, e.g. Cupid, oranges etc.
According to Rona Goffen, the piece was supposed to be an 'instructive' present for the duke's young wife, basically telling her that to be a good wife, she had to be up for the nookie. In support of this hypothesis is the domestic scene in the background of maids rifling through some cassoni (bridal chests) and the dog at Venus' feet. Dogs are iconographically considered a sign of fidelity, and this dog was also seen in a portrait of Guidobaldo's mother. But the dog is sleeping - taken as a sign of infidelity, and it also made an appearance in a later painting by Titian of Zeus' seduction of Danae.
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