Art patronage of Julius II Art patronage of Julius II Pope Julius II (reigned 1503–1513), commissioned a series of highly influential art and architecture projects in Rome. The painting of the Sistine Chapel ceiling by Michelangelo and various rooms in the Vatican by Raphael are considered among the masterworks that mark the High Renaissance in Rome. His decision to rebuild St Peters led to the construction of the massive basilica we see now. Julius died in 1513, and except for the Sistine Chapel ceiling, which he lived to see finished, his very largest commissions were finished after his death. The term "High Renaissance" was first
The Birth of Venus Politian speaks of Zephyr causing flowers to bloom, and spreading their scent over the land, which probably explains the roses he blows along with him in the painting. Having a large standing female nude as the central focus was unprecedented in post-classical Western painting, and certainly drew on the classical sculptures which were coming to light in this period, especially in Rome, where Botticelli had spent 1481–82 working on the walls of the Sistine Chapel. The pose of Botticelli's "Venus" follows the Venus Pudica ("Venus of Modesty") type from classical antiquity, where the hands are held to cover the breasts