The Birth of Venus - Botticelli

The Birth of Venus
Sandro Botticelli, c. 1482–1486.
Tempura on canvas
172.5 × 278.5 cm, 67.9 × 109.6 in
Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy.

Lots of artists painted the birth of Venus. Botticelli's is probably the most famous.

The classical goddess Venus was born fully grown, and rose up from the sea on a shell. She was then blown towards shore by the Zephyrs, symbols of spiritual passions. She is joined by one of the Horae, goddesses of the seasons, who hands her a flowered cloak.

In classical antiquity, the sea shell was a symbol for a woman's vulva.

Venus was the Roman goddess of love, and was borrowed from the Greek goddess Aphrodite.