Detail of Venus, Venus and Mars by Botticelli

In this detail of Venus from Venus and Mars by Sandro Botticelli, 1483, the goddess of Love stares quietly forward, surrounded by a colourful forest landscape. In the distance is the sea from which Venus was born. Behind her mischievous baby satyrs carry off weapons of war belonging to Mars, the god of War, her companion in the full painting. Sandro Botticelli (1445-1510) was a Florentine painter of the of the early Italian Renaissance who apprenticed under the master Filippo Lippi. With strong Gothic influences, the mature work of Botticelli reflected a study of antique classical sculpture and was noted for its linear grace and rhythm, flattened relief-like forms with strong contours, and subtle colouring. The complexity of meanings in Botticelli’s compositions, from sources drawn from classical antiquity, mythology and philosophy, enthraled scholars for centuries.