The Birth of Venus Dorotheus". Pliny also noted a second painting by Apelles of Venus "superior even to his earlier one," that had been begun by artist but left unfinished. The Roman images in various media showing the new-born Venus in a giant shell may well be crude derivative versions of these paintings. Botticelli could not have seen the frescos unearthed later in Pompeii, but may well have seen small versions of the motif in terracotta or engraved gems. The "House of Venus" in Pompeii has a life-size fresco of Venus lying in the shell, also seen in other works; in most other images
The Botticelli Secret artist Sandro Botticelli. In 15th-century Italy, Luciana Vetra was young and beautiful, with long, golden hair. She was a full-time whore and a part-time model. When her best client asked her to pose as the goddess Flora for a painting, Luciana complied until the artist abruptly sends her away without payment. Luciana angrily took the unfinished painting, but someone was ready to kill her and people she knows to get the painting back. As friends and clients are murdered around her, Luciana turned to Guido della Torre, a novice at the monastery of Santa Croce. They fled together through the