Sunday, February 6, 2011

V-V-Venus

For some unfathomable reason ; )
Venus is a favorite subject of artists.

William Stott — Birth of Venus — 1887

6 comments:

  1. "It's not just a naked lady taking a swim! It's Venus rising from the waves. It's a classical subject, therefore worthy of artistic representation.

    "No it's not just an excuse to paint naked women.

    "No! You can't have the model's address! Get out of my studio, you blackguard!"

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  2. "Master Stott, you shall hear from representatives of Her Majesty the Queen about this matter, you can rest assured. After all, this is the age of Victoria!"

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  3. Despite I already have a big Venus-collection, I didn't know this artist. Thanks.

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  4. Hi Judy—I have a lot of images of Venus, but I haven't yet put them together in a collection, the same with the goddess Diana, but one of these days...

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  5. Actually there is much more to this picture than meets the eye. The model was J W Turner's mistress and model Maud Franklin, who posed for Stott (a disciple and good friend of Turner) without Turner's knowledge. The first Turner knew of it was when he saw the painting in the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition. Fisticuffs were exchanged in the Beefsteak Club, and Turner dumped Maud and Stott.

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  6. Arggh! Did I say Turner? - I meant WHISTLER!!

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