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.
Sandro Botticelli late 1500, eighteen months after Savonarola died, and the development of his style can be traced through a number of late works, as discussed below. In late 1502, some four years after Savonarola's death, Isabella d'Este wanted a painting done in Florence. Her agent Francesco Malatesta wrote to inform her that her first choice, Perugino, was away, Filippino Lippi had a full schedule for six months, but Botticelli was free to start at once, and ready to oblige. She preferred to wait for Perugino's return. This again casts serious doubt on Vasari's assertion, but equally he does not seem to