Love: How the Gods Could be Human

The conception of the exhibit came from the overall fascinating resurgence of Western culture in the Renaissance attached to the gods of the ancient world and how they fit into the new Christian culture. The connection the Renaissance has to the ancient world’s art and literature is not new, however what stands out is the attention to love, lust, and power with the gods.  I found this through Sandro Botticelli’s Birth of Venus. Her body, so like the sculptures of ancient Greece and Rome and the new approach Botticelli took toward the myth of her birth struck me. By discovering Venus, I found other influential gods in Jupiter and Apollo. I discovered the relationship between the gods in Renaissance and Baroque paintings and the artist's attraction to the conceptualization of a visual humanity. Humanity for hundreds of years prior came from the Church and the word of God and strong morals came from the good works and piety. This did not sit well with the upper class at the time and led to a philosophical, literary, artistic, and educational shift known as humanism. Renaissance humanists desired a new approach in defining morality. They explored how humanity came from within, still God given, but focused on the individual’s actions and emotions in society. This exhibit looks at how humanist artists’ works clashed with the religious culture, creating a secular one. Artist and patron’s interest in the gods worshiped in antiquity explained the excess of mythological paintings in these periods. Venus, Jupiter, and Apollo stood out in this area, though for many different reasons. Artists used Venus to explore techniques of naturalism, especially in relation to the female nude. She represented love, lust, and passion and is often seen with her lovers or son, Cupid. Artists frequently depicted Venus as delicate, soft, and seductive, following her traditional representation of sexuality. Jupiter also allowed artists to explore sexuality, in a more explicit context. Power imbalance, rape, and abduction litter the themes of Jupiter’s paintings, echoing the dynamics between men and women in antiquity and in early modern Europe. Apollo followed Jupiter’s lead in paintings. Illustrations in this exhibit of Apollo show his uncontrollable lust for the nymph Daphne. This story seems to flip the male/female power imbalance, showing Daphne as villainous for her rejection. Artists focused on the agony Apollo feels when Daphne transforms, choosing the height of his chase as the subject of their paintings. Altogether, artists explored humanity up close and personal, discovering how conflict and passion define people.