More than breathtaking, ‘The Birth of Venus’ signalled an aesthetic revolution

With its striking depiction of the classical goddess of love and fertility at its centre, Sandro Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus (c1485) is one of the most famous and influential Renaissance artworks. And, as the UK curator, gallerist and video essayist James Payne details in this instalment from his series Great Art Explained, Botticelli’s painting is more than just masterful. Rather, with its preternatural style, depiction of female nudity and non-Christian imagery, it represented a turning point in the history of Western art. Detailing the social forces that made the painting possible, as well as Botticelli’s techniques and motifs, Payne explores how the revolutionary work melded humanist philosophy with contemporary Christianity.