Botticelli's Venus

Botticelli's Venus was acquired in 1920 by Riccardo Gualino and donated to the Galleria Sabauda in Turin in1930. It was painted at the end of the 15th century, when Botticelli’s workshop was at the height of its popularity. Botticelli chose to portray her naked, pale and frail, nestled in a dark niche, her feet resting on apiece of marble. She tries, modestly, to cover herself with her hands and with her long blond-auburn hair. The link between this painting, painted on wood panel, and the famous canvas with the Birth of Venus at the Uffizi has been discussed at length by critics and scholars alike. Today we tend to see the Gualino Venus as an independent work. Indeed, Giorgio Vasari mentions that similar representations, produced in Botticelli's workshop, could be found in several Florentine homes.