Rokeby Venus been cited as sources of inspiration for Velázquez. The nude Venuses of the Italian painters, such as Giorgione's "Sleeping Venus" (c. 1510) and Titian's "Venus of Urbino" (1538), were the main precedents. In this work, Velázquez combined two established poses for Venus: recumbent on a couch or a bed, and gazing at a mirror. She is often described as looking at herself on the mirror, although this is physically impossible since viewers can see her face reflected in their direction. This phenomenon is known as the Venus effect. In a number of ways the painting represents a pictorial departure, through
Pardo Venus arm drawn up to support the head and the other resting near the crotch, is essentially the same as that in Giorgione's "Dresden Venus", which after his death in 1510 was completed by Titian. The pose apart, the paintings offer a strong contrast, with the noisy and hectic scene in the "Pardo Venus" completely different from the tranquil and deserted landscape in Dresden. Around 1534 Titian had painted the "Venus of Urbino", and a repetition of this from 1545, perhaps a lost recorded "Venus" sent to Charles V, "was the basis" for the "Venus and Musician" series, which exists in