Details of Renaissance Paintings: Sandro Botticelli, Birth of Venus, 1482

In 1984, Warhol’s work took a new direction when he initiated the Details of Renaissance Paintings series, moving away from portraits of celebrities. Comprised of cropped images of Old Master paintings depicted in Warhol’s characteristic vibrant, Pop colours and off-register line drawing, the series strips each work of its original intent and instead focuses on their value as symbols of popular culture. Furthermore, the relative ease with which the silkscreen printing process allowed multiplication of the image deliberately mocks the painstaking process of creating the original masterpiece. In this print, Warhol puts his own spin on the iconic image of the Birth of Venus, as depicted by Sandro Botticelli in the 15th century. Placing the Roman goddess firmly in the present, the result is a poignant statement on the mass consumption of artistic masterworks.