Venus and the Arts of Love in Renaissance Florence

In this volume, Rebekah Compton offers the first survey of Venus in the art, culture, and governance of Florence from 1300 to 1600. Organized chronologically, each of the six chapters investigates one of the goddess's divine attributes - her celestial splendor, rosy-hued complexion, enchanting fashions, green gardens, erotic anatomy, and gifts from the sea. Venus's attributes, including her starlight, jewelry, and shells, enhance her seductive powers, attracting attention and arousing desire through the calculated manipulation of materials in ways that are similar to the sensory impact of the visual arts. Showing how different discourses and disciplines can interact in the creation and reception of art, Compton examines the materials and techniques that artists used to fulfill and enhance the goddess's iconographic demands. Her book offers new insights on sight, seduction, and desire, as well as concepts of gender, sexuality, and viewership from both male and female perspectives in the early modern era.