Venus on the Half-Shell assumed that Vonnegut wrote the book. This problem was solved by the book being reprinted under Farmer's by-line. A common element to this novel is the origin of many of the characters' and locations' names. Farmer "put in a lot of references to literature and fictional authors... Most of the alien names in Venus were formed by transposing the letters of English or non-English words." The title and paperback cover art are a reference to an Italian Renaissance tempera painting by Sandro Botticelli, "The Birth of Venus", which depicts the birth of the goddess Venus as her rising from the
Annunciation (Botticelli, Glasgow) of flooring that serve to demonstrate the perspective. The solemn architecture overlooks the figures. Annunciation (Botticelli, Glasgow) The Annunciation is a painting created by Italian Renaissance painter Sandro Botticelli. It is a tempera on panel and measures 49.5 cm tall and 58.5 cm wide. It is in the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow, Scotland. Its date is not certain though a majority of the critics consider it early, noticing certain elements reminiscent of Verrocchio. Van Marle, however, dates it circa 1490. On the lower part there is a note that indicates that it came from the Florentine Church