Postcard Assignment: Birth of Venus

Birth of Venus
Galleria Uffizi
Firenze

The Birth of Venus hangs next to Botticelli's other paintings, the religious ones he created to earn a living in a time where most commissions came from the churches. the museum goers cluster around this painting and Spring, in tour groups and as individuals. There is a constant hum of voices, mostly indistinguishable to me although many are English, and/or are speaking the language. I think seeing the paintings in silence would be a completely different experience. Shoes shuffle across the floor. You can listen to who is wearing flip flops. Some people have the headsets that give the listener their own private tour. People wearing them nod in understanding to nothing I can hear. The room is crowded, I feel rushed; I enjoy most as rest, in thought and quiet. Venus reminds me of the Virgin, although the differences between his paintings of the religious scenes and the ones he painted for himself (although not technically for himself) never seem more evident as when they hang next to each other.