Paolina Borghese as Venus Victorious

Question 1

Subject

Answer 1

Semi-nude lifesize portrait of Napoleon’s sister as Venus Victorious.

Question 2

Paolina

Answer 2

A reputation for promiscuity and enjoyed the controversy that posing nude would attract.

Question 3

Erotic nature

Answer 3

The fingers of her right connect with the nape of her neck, offer a gesture charged with seductivepromise. The head is raised slightly suggesting that something or someone hassuddenly entered her line of vision.

Question 4

Neoclassicism

Answer 4

Influence of Neoclassicism can be seen in the classicising elements (e.g. the psyche’s knot hairstyle), the use of marble and the idealised female form.

Question 5

Diana

Answer 5

Canova originally wanted to depict Paolina as the virgin goddess Diana, however she insisted on Venus.

Question 6

Catafalque

Answer 6

A raised platform used to bear coffins – a reference to classicism as in
Greek and Roman art thereclining female figure is frequently found on sarcophagus (coffin) lids.

Question 7

Venus

Answer 7

Holds the apple of discord in her left hand which references the Trojan Wars and identifies her as the classical goddess of love and beauty.

Question 8

Aeneas

Answer 8

Paolina’s depiction as Venus also alluded to her family’s imperial aims. By posing as Venus, the mother of Aeneas who was the founder of Rome, Paolina boldly reinforces her husband’s royal lineage (Camillo was an Italian prince) and attempts to justify her brother Napoleon’s claim to the throne of Italy.

Question 9

Sleeping Hermaphroditus

Answer 9

Influence of the Ancient Greek sculpture can be seen in Paolina’s reclining pose. Provides an intellectual or mythological pretext that justifies the erotic nature of the sculpture.

Question 10

Venus of Urbino

Answer 10

Canova also references Titian’s Renaissance reclining Venus which would have been recognized amongst wealthy, educated audiences.

Question 11

Discovery of Herculaneum and Pompeii

Answer 11

In the 18th century, the discoveries of the ancient Roman towns of Herculaneum and Pompeii prompted a revival in interest of classical antiquity. Naples, Pompeii, andHerculaneumbecame important stops on the European Grand Tour made by English visitors.

Question 12

Winckelmann

Answer 12

German classicistJohann Joachim Winckelmann did much to popularize the excavations. (“In order for us to be great, we must imitate the Greeks)”.

Question 13

Enlightenment values

Answer 13

Neoclassical artists looked back to theartistic achievements of the Greeks and Romans with renewed interest, reacting to the frivolity of the Rococo, instead emphasising Age of Enlightenment values such as reason, rationality and beauty.

Question 14

Camillo Borghese (patron)

Answer 14

By posing as Venus, the mother of Aeneas who was the founder of Rome, Paolina boldly reinforces her husband’s royal lineage (Camillo was an Italian prince) and attempts to justify her brother Napoleon’s claim to the throne of Italy. Such an obvious reference to the family’s political aspirations was only appropriate for a private domestic setting.

Question 15

Rotating Platform

Answer 15

Originally displayed in the Borghese private villa, placed on a mechanism that would rotate the sculpture, so that the viewer could admire the sculpture from all angles by candlelight.

Question 16

Materials:

Answer 16

Classical connotations, low tensile strength countered by the horiztonal base, translucency of the marble replicates human flesh. Soft and easy to carve.

Question 17

Techniques

Answer 17

Hand drill used for precise details e.g. curls of hair, rasps used to replicate the softness of flesh

Question 18

Social status

Answer 18

The Neoclassical style reflects the artistic tastes of wealthy aristocratic families such as the Borghese, showcasing the owner’s classical education.