Exploring the Idea of the Meaning of Art, as Being Dependent on the Maker's Intent
The meaning of a work of art/media//design is not fixed, whatever the intention of the maker. During the Renaissance the female nude became a popular subject for painters, said to glorify beauty, truth and love. However, history suggests that in a society unfamiliar with confrontation with female flesh, certain nudes were greeted with shock and disgust. In fact, some nude images may have even been created with pornographic intent. This essay will address the title 's statement using Titian 's 1538 Venus of Urbino, a painting which at various points throughout history has been dismissed as crass and pornographic, or celebrated as a seminal example of the Renaissance nude, incorporating a close reading of the piece as painting and cultural text. As Professor Rona Goffen states:
“It is not extravagantly hypothetical to imagine how much more direct an appeal such a picture must have made to the sexual responses of some sixteenth-century beholders."1 This painting proves that a piece of art is dependent on the context in which it is viewed, be it cultural, historical or even geographical. Its significance, function and 'meaning ' is constantly shifting. The true friction at this painting 's heart is in the contrasting definitions of art and pornography. This essay will address this friction, questioning whether it has any impact on the work 's overall importance.
Fig. 1 - Titian, The Venus of Urbino, 1538
1 Goffen, R. (1997) Titian 's Women. Yale: Yale University Press.
Before looking at its reception, it is vital to analyse the painting 's content. Based on Giorgione 's Sleeping Venus, a female nude clutches a bunch of roses, the symbol of Venus, but bears no other resemblance to the goddess. Reclining nudes are often portrayed with their eyes shut2, however Venus keeps her 's locked, unabashed and interacting with the viewer. A playful smile invites the viewer in, prompting speculation that the subject may not be the goddess, but a courtesan. If indeed
“It is not extravagantly hypothetical to imagine how much more direct an appeal such a picture must have made to the sexual responses of some sixteenth-century beholders."1 This painting proves that a piece of art is dependent on the context in which it is viewed, be it cultural, historical or even geographical. Its significance, function and 'meaning ' is constantly shifting. The true friction at this painting 's heart is in the contrasting definitions of art and pornography. This essay will address this friction, questioning whether it has any impact on the work 's overall importance.
Fig. 1 - Titian, The Venus of Urbino, 1538
1 Goffen, R. (1997) Titian 's Women. Yale: Yale University Press.
Before looking at its reception, it is vital to analyse the painting 's content. Based on Giorgione 's Sleeping Venus, a female nude clutches a bunch of roses, the symbol of Venus, but bears no other resemblance to the goddess. Reclining nudes are often portrayed with their eyes shut2, however Venus keeps her 's locked, unabashed and interacting with the viewer. A playful smile invites the viewer in, prompting speculation that the subject may not be the goddess, but a courtesan. If indeed
Bibliography: Dennis, K. (2009) A History of Seeing and Touching. Oxford: Berg Publishing Freedberg, D. (1989) The Power of Images: Studies in the History of Theory and Response. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Goffen, R. (1997) Titian 's Women. Yale: Yale University Press. ed. Goffen, R. (1997) Titian 's 'Venus of Urbino '. New York: Cambridge University Press. Scruton, R. (2009) Beauty. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Tinagli, P. (1997) Women in Italian Renaissance Art: Gender, Representation, Identity. Manchester: Manchester University Press. Twain, M. (1998) A Tramp Abroad. London: Penguin Classics. 12 Dennis, A History of Seeing and Touching