Focus painting
February Focus: The Body
The ‘Rokeby Venus’ takes its nickname from Rokeby Hall in Yorkshire, where it hung in the 19th century. It is the only surviving painting of a female nude by the Spanish artist Velázquez.
For a nude to have been painted in 17th-century Spain, where public morals were closely controlled by the Inquisition, is unusual, and the painting would have only been displayed privately.
The depiction of Venus, goddess of love and the embodiment of ideal beauty, has a long tradition in art. Velázquez cleverly combines two traditional motifs: Venus reclining and Venus before a mirror. She lies with her back to us, the curve of her body echoed in the sweep of the bedcover.
The mirror held by Cupid shows Venus returning our gaze. Is the blurred image obscuring her identity a device to focus our attention on her body or is it a metaphor of art’s inability to capture ultimate beauty?
More paintings from the collection
See also
Talks and events on the body- Talks on Velázquez: 'The Rokeby Venus'
- Free art: download this month's focus painting
