The Birth of Venus sea brings forth Venus just as the Virgin gives birth to the ultimate symbol of love, Christ. Rather than choosing one of the many interpretations offered for Botticelli's depiction of the "Birth (Arrival?) of Venus" it might be better to view it from a variety of perspectives. This layered approach—mythological, political, religious—was intended. Botticelli, or more likely his workshop, repeated the figure of Venus in another painting of about 1490. This life-sized work depicts a similar figure and pose, partially clad in a light blouse, and contrasted against a plain dark background. It is in the Galleria Sabauda in Turin.
The Birth of Venus of Florence, perhaps by Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de' Medici (1463–1503) a major patron of Botticelli, under the influence of his cousin Lorenzo de' Medici, "il Magnifico". This was first suggested by Herbert Horne in his monograph of 1908, the first major modern work on Botticelli, and long followed by most writers, but more recently has been widely doubted, though it is still accepted by some. Various interpretations of the painting rely on this origin for its meaning. Although relations were perhaps always rather tense between the "Magnifico" and his young cousins and wards, Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco and his brother Giovanni