| Martin Herbert : The Rebirth of Venus : Oils & egg-tempera on canvas : 18" x 24" (457 x 610 mm) : 2004 |
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Greetings cards and prints are no longer on sale through this site - they are on sale at the etsy.com shop. Click here to open a new window on the Spirit Visions etsy.com shop. Original painting: SOLD : Collection of Lui Krieg
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| As
a long-time admirer of Botticelli, when I started learning the Mische
Technique of painting, I decided one of my first subjects would be a reinterpretation
of one of his great themes, the Birth of Venus. Botticelli depicted the
Goddess, born from the ocean wave which was fertilised by the severed
genitals of the God Uranus, having already risen from the waves, carried
upward on a scallop shell. Here I wanted an underwater scene, just before
the moment of her birth, her expression one of innocence and wonder at
the new world into which she is emerging. Her adornment with Celtic tattoos (based on designs from the Book of Kells) is a reflection of the way in which the persona of Venus from Greek classical mythology has been adopted and reinterpreted in many ways by the contemporary neo-pagan movement. I also see a duality in her image - passive sex object or powerful Goddess? |
