Andy Warhol – Sandro Botticelli, Birth of Venus, 1482 (F&S II.317)

1984

112 x 81 cm

Screenprint on Arches Aquarelle (Cold Pressed) paper

Edition of 70, 18 AP, 5 PP, 5 HC, signed and numbered in pencil lower left.

Edition 46/70

Birth of Venus 317 is a screenprint by Andy Warhol from his Details of the Renaissance: Birth of Venus portfolio, from 1984. The series is a reinterpretation of Sandro Botticelli’s painting of the goddess Venus. Warhol created four of these Birth of Venus prints, all of which feature the Roman goddess of love. In these works, Warhol highlights Venus’s divine beauty, by zooming in on her face and flowing hair. Sandro Botticelli’s Birth of Venus is one of the most famous Renaissance paintings, which heavily inspired Warhol.
For Warhol’s Birth of Venus series, he created four screenprints of the goddess’s face, each of which have their own vibrant colour pallet. Warhol left the background plain, allowing her portrait to pop. In Birth of Venus 317, Venus is shown with flowing hair of fiery bronze, against a purple backdrop. Her calm facial features contrast with the vibrant composition, creating a placid work. Warhol first became fascinated by Renaissance paintings after attending The Mona Lisa’s first exhibition in New York in 1963. Later that year, he created Thirty Are Better Than One, where Mona Lisa’s face is repeated 30 times. Warhol revisited the idea of producing Renaissance portraits in the 1980s to create the Details of the Renaissance series. Warhol’s Birth of Venus series is not his only foray into the Renaissance era. In the 1980’s, Warhol became fascinated with the master artists of the past and created many renditions of their works. Besides Botticelli, Warhol created prints inspired by artists such as Leonardo da Vinci and Piero Della Francesca. Other works from the enigmatic collection include Saint Apollonia, The Annunciation, and Brera Madonna. Warhol’s appropriation of such a sacred image of the arts was surely open to criticism. Regardless, inducting the work into the Pop Art genre only reinforced Warhol’s attitude that all things can be commodified; that art is for the masses, not just the elite few.

Publishers stamp on the verso.