Formal Analysis of Andy Warhol’s Birth of Venus
Birth of Venus is a painting depicting the face of Venus, a mythological goddess. The piece was completed in 1984 by Andy Warhol as a recreation of the original version completed by Sandro Botticelli in 1482. The painting is presently viewed at the Arkansas Art Center. The piece was originally archived at Andy Warhol Museum in Pennsylvania, before being moved to the Arkansas art center. The painting was completed as a screen-print on Arches Aquarelle (cold pressed) paper, and can only be viewed by one side because it hangs on the museum wall.
The painter colorfully represented the face of Venus. The neck and the entire face are completed in pink, but the hair is brown. These features are contrasted against a solid light blue background. The goddess’ hair and other facial features are emphasized to bring out her divine yet seductive gaze. The artist paid significant attention to asymmetrical balance, whereby the background colors are made lighter and visually calm to retreat under the dominant warm colors used to paint the goddess’s hair and face. Thus, the visual lightness of the background balances asymmetrically with the visual dominance of the foreground. Asymmetrical balance is further created by adding what seems like the end of a flower on the top left of the painting. The flower reinforces the wavy hair to add visual weight to the left side of the painting. A diagonal line running from the bottom right to the top left reveals that the upper side of the painting is visually lighter than the lower half. Asymmetrical balance is used as an organization tool. Placing shapes and body parts haphazardly on the piece would not lead to a compelling composition.
Warhol not only uses color to create asymmetrical balance but also for variety and harmony. The use of solid cool colors in the background creates harmony in the background while painting the goddess using warm colors creates harmony in her face and hair. Further, the painter’s use of cool colors for the background ad warm colors for the foreground creates variety. Warhol also uses a variety of lines in panting the goddess. The use of wavy lines in the hair guides the viewers’ eyes away from the goddess’s face, thereby creating movement.
Work Cited
Link to the painting: https://www.artsy.net/artwork/andy-warhol-sandro-botticelli-birth-of-venus-1482-fs-ii-dot-319-3
Birth of Venus is a painting depicting the face of Venus, a mythological goddess. The piece was completed in 1984 by Andy Warhol as a recreation of the original version completed by Sandro Botticelli in 1482. The painting is presently viewed at the Arkansas Art Center. The piece was originally archived at Andy Warhol Museum in Pennsylvania, before being moved to the Arkansas art center. The painting was completed as a screen-print on Arches Aquarelle (cold pressed) paper, and can only be viewed by one side because it hangs on the museum wall.
The painter colorfully represented the face of Venus. The neck and the entire face are completed in pink, but the hair is brown. These features are contrasted against a solid light blue background. The goddess’ hair and other facial features are emphasized to bring out her divine yet seductive gaze. The artist paid significant attention to asymmetrical balance, whereby the background colors are made lighter and visually calm to retreat under the dominant warm colors used to paint the goddess’s hair and face. Thus, the visual lightness of the background balances asymmetrically with the visual dominance of the foreground. Asymmetrical balance is further created by adding what seems like the end of a flower on the top left of the painting. The flower reinforces the wavy hair to add visual weight to the left side of the painting. A diagonal line running from the bottom right to the top left reveals that the upper side of the painting is visually lighter than the lower half. Asymmetrical balance is used as an organization tool. Placing shapes and body parts haphazardly on the piece would not lead to a compelling composition.
Warhol not only uses color to create asymmetrical balance but also for variety and harmony. The use of solid cool colors in the background creates harmony in the background while painting the goddess using warm colors creates harmony in her face and hair. Further, the painter’s use of cool colors for the background ad warm colors for the foreground creates variety. Warhol also uses a variety of lines in panting the goddess. The use of wavy lines in the hair guides the viewers’ eyes away from the goddess’s face, thereby creating movement.
Work Cited
Link to the painting: https://www.artsy.net/artwork/andy-warhol-sandro-botticelli-birth-of-venus-1482-fs-ii-dot-319-3