Analysis: The Toilet Of Venus

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The Toilet of Venus (“The Rokeby Venus”), by Diego Velazquez, is an amazing oil painting currently displayed at the National Gallery of Art in London. This 122.7 x 177cm dimensional oil painting dates back to 1647-51, which I had the pleasure to view via virtual tour. The tour itself was well organized and concise, organized by room and artist. The tour had a 360 degree view, which did make me feel slightly dizzy and made the artwork hard to scroll in and focus on, but in the end I found my way around, which led to this specific piece catching my eye.
The painting is of a nude woman on a bed, facing away from the viewers point of view. The focal point of the art piece is the nude woman herself. This woman is looking at her face in a mirror …show more content…

Yet, her facial expression is full of shame. This reminds me of a time in my life when I was not comfortable with who I was, and was unable to look in the mirror. The story I took from this painting, from my personal interpretation, was that this god-like woman is viewed of as beautiful, but does not feel that way herself. I believe this woman is depicted to be someone who gives off confidence, but is secretly ashamed of who she is. I know many people who come off as happy individuals, but when they are alone, are very sad. This is what reminded me of that, and overall made me feel very sad for this …show more content…

The room and the bedding in the room give off the impression that this woman is wealthy. The angelic child in the picture is also plump and healthy, along with the woman, meaning they had enough money to eat during their time, leading to such conclusions of wealth. The child may also be her child, for the way to child looks at this woman is with admiration that could be the admiration from a child for his/her mother. The child and the nude woman also share similar features, such as the same hair color and skin tone.
I feel that the colors of this art piece really work well with the interpretation of the artwork itself. If everything was brightly colored, one might view this as a happy painting, and interpret the woman as self-confident and problem free. The lighting and contrasts in color and lighting open the viewer’s interpretation to the possibility that this is not just a normal portrait of a woman non-chalantly admiring herself, that this woman may be in

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