My favorite painting!

Well folks, I'm finished with my box for Illustration! I worked on it last night from about 11:30 pm to 2:30 am and for a couple hours today. I will have a post for it following this one!

You know, much as I've been involved in art, I can't say I've ever come upon a particular work that I can call my favorite... until now!

There is something captivating about ''La nascita di Venere'' (''The Birth of Venus'') painted by Sandro Botticelli (c. 1482-1486). It would be worth your time to see a larger image of the painting by clicking here.

When I first saw this in Janson's History of Art, I couldn't take my eyes off of it.

Anyway, according to an introductory segment on this painting in Perspectives on Western Art (vol. 2), ''Venus, the Greco-Roman goddess of physical beauty and sensual love, was exalted in the Renaissance as the embodiment of ideal beauty and as the channel to spiritual love.'' The painting depicts Venus emerging from the sea. On the left, Zephyr, the god of the spring winds, blows Venus upon her shell to the shore while Chloris clings to him. On the right, a nymph prepares to clothe her.

There are so many things I love about this painting. I love the rich color, especially Venus' hair, I love the movement in her hair, the movement in the garment she's about to be clothed in, the movement in the water, and especially the light... I can't even name everything.

Some day, I shall venture to the Galleria degli Uffizi in Florence to see it.