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
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,