The Birth of Venus of Venus" flatter not only the Medici and Botticelli but all of Florence, home to the worthy successors to some of the greatest figures of antiquity, both in governance and in the arts. These essentially pagan readings of Botticelli's "Birth of Venus" should not exclude a more purely Christian one, which may be derived from the Neoplatonic reading of the painting indicated above. Viewed from a religious standpoint, the nudity of Venus suggests that of Eve before the Fall as well as the pure love of Paradise. Once landed, the goddess of love will don the earthly garb of mortal
Madonna del Padiglione (Botticelli) Madonna del Padiglione (Botticelli) The Madonna and Child with Three Angels (also known as "Madonna del Padiglione") is a painting by the Italian Renaissance master Sandro Botticelli, executed in 1493. It is housed in the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana of Milan. The Virgin Mary is portrayed holding a book to her breast and gesturing to the Child, the latter being supported by an angel. The Italian name ("padiglione" meaning "pavilion") derives from the rich baldachin over the scene. There is an open book on a small prie-dieu between the Virgin and Child. Angels are pulling back the drapery of the pavilion. Together,