Venus of Urbino

Paper Summary:

In this article, the writer notes that Rona Goffen's "Sex, Space, and Social History in Titian's Venus of Urbino" argues that traditional essentialist analysis of Titian's 'Venus of Urbino' have missed key points of textual and historical evidence by concluding that the painting is the equivalent of Renaissance pornography. Instead, the writer points out, Goffen argues, Titian's famous work is actually a marital image that, despite overt sexuality, is nonetheless grounded in the social conventions of marriage during the Renaissance. The writer discusses that drawing on an impressive amount of historical scholarship into the period, Goffen illustrates how our modern conceptions of sexuality and marriage are at odds with those embraced during the Renaissance. The writer maintains that the end result has been a gross misinterpretation of 'Venus of Urbino' that debases the subject of the work without a clear understanding of its social and historical context.

From the Paper:

"In other words, the act of sex itself may be biological and omnipresent for all human beings; this is natural. But the attached attitudes, beliefs, and representations of that sexuality is not natural but is instead informed wholly by cultural, social, and historical forces. These forces shape the way that individuals perceive the act of sex and incorporate its presence into their lives.
"Because of this fundamentally cultural basis for attitudes about sexuality, it follows that artistic representations of sexuality will change with time and not necessarily be comprehensible. Goffen argues that any interpretation of the obvious sexuality of Venus of Urbino must be tempered and informed by a clear knowledge of the historical period in which the painting was produced and the prevailing attitudes about sexuality that would have informed the artist and his original audience."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Goffen, Rona. "Sex, Space, and Social History in Titian's Venus of Urbino." Titian's "Venus of Urbino." Ed. Rona Goffen. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997. 63-90.

More papers on Venus of Urbino:

• Book Review # 134268 : "The Context of "Venus of Urbino"
• Essay # 59420 : "Titian's "Venus of Urbino"
• Descriptive Essay # 22670 : "Five Portraits"

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