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The Birth of Venus

Cultural  
  1. A painting by Sandro Botticelli. It depicts the birth of the goddess Venus, also known as Aphrodite, from the foam of the sea.


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The painting is often referred to humorously as “Venus on the half-shell.”

Example Sentences

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Sandro Botticelli’s 1485 painting The Birth of Venus shows the Roman goddess of love and beauty perched on a seashell after having emerged from the water.

From Textbooks • Apr. 19, 2023

Nimbus doesn't seem like much of a threat when we meet him, surfacing on the ocean to confront Rick on a giant scallop shell a la Sandro Botticelli's "The Birth of Venus."

From Salon • Jun. 21, 2021

The exhibition included a 2009 recreation of The Birth of Venus by photographer David LaChapelle, as well as interpretations of the same painting by Andy Warhol.

From BBC • Jan. 28, 2021

His fridge is adorned with magnets of crustaceans, Campari and Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus.

From The Guardian • Oct. 15, 2018

Most of Howard's works are small: he selected classic and poetic subjects, such as The Birth of Venus, The Solar System, Pandora, and The Pleiades, and occasionally he painted portraits.

From English Painters with a chapter on American painters by Koehler, S. R.