Birth of Venus

Venus is the Roman goddess equivalent to Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty in Greek mythology. There are two versions concerning her birth, found in Homer's Iliad and Hesiod's Theogony, among others. The first recounts that Venus was born from the union of Zeus and Dione; the second claims that she was born from the semen of the god Uranus, after his son Cronus mutilated his genitals with a sickle. The fluid is said to have spilled into the waters near Cyprus, giving birth to Venus. After she emerged from the waves, the wind Zephyr carried her to the island of Cythera, hence the second name given to Aphrodite: Cytherea. This version then explains the circumstances of Venus's birth from the waters, known as Venus Anadyomene. Here, Salmson depicts Venus with an ideal body, perfect forms, charming, beautiful, and sensual in her swaying pose. The star she raises above her head reminds us that she was born from the celestial body of Ouranos. The shell floating on the sea, from whose sides massive waves emerge, is deliberately modest in size so as not to overshadow the figure's anatomy. The sculptor avoids any sense of stillness by bending the right leg in contrast to the left leg, which is upright and extended. A sense of airy movement is evoked by the drapery that hangs behind her back and loops back to the left side, as if carried by the sea breeze, in the manner of the one we see in Pradier's Poésie Légère. Finally, Salmson maintains a classical style, well-suited to the subject, which allows for complete freedom. The smooth, glossy surface avoids emphasizing details that would bring this goddess too close to reality. The modesty of the breasts, the absence of irregularity on the belly, the modeling of the face suggested and not represented, all these elements serve entirely the myth, the beauty, the grace of this goddess.