Venus with a Shell
桑德罗·波提切利是早期文艺复兴的著名代表人物，出生于中产阶级的他，从小便接受到良好的艺术教育，艺术家菲利普·利皮、波拉约洛兄弟、以及韦罗基奥都对他的绘画风格有所影响。而后他受到美蒂奇家族的赏识，也通过这一层关系，获得了政治上的保护，并打开了通向文艺界名流的大门。
Sandro Botticelli is a well-known pioneer of the early Renaissance. Born in the middle class, he received a good art education from childhood, posing an influence on his painting style. In his adulthood, Sandro Botticelli was appreciated by the Medici family, and through this relationship, he gained political protection and opened the door to celebrities in the arts and the arts.
早期文艺复兴，画家们的作画题材大多为圣经故事，大约从波提切利的《维纳斯的诞生》开始，古希腊罗马神话故事开始成为重要的绘画题材。
In the early Renaissance, painters mostly painted biblical stories. Starting from Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus, ancient Greek and Roman myths began to become important painting themes.
罗马神话中的许多人物和故事都取材于希腊神话，其中维纳斯(Venus)便对应希腊神话中的人物阿佛洛狄忒(Aphrodite)。在希腊神话里，“大地之母”盖亚(Gaia)与第一任神王“天空之神”乌拉诺斯(Uranus)结合孕育了十二提坦.其中最小的提坦克洛诺斯(Cronus)，在盖亚的怂恿下弑父夺权，成为第二任神王。克洛诺斯割下了父亲乌拉诺斯的阳具并扔到了海里，神的血肉在海中激起层层浪花与浓厚的泡沫，接着象征爱与美的阿佛洛狄忒便从泡沫中诞生了（阿佛洛狄忒意为“泡沫中出现”，也就是foam-arisen）。而后，她乘坐着贝壳，抵达塞浦路斯岛。
Many of the characters and stories in Roman mythology are based on Greek mythology, of which Venus corresponds to the character Aphrodite in Greek mythology. In Greek mythology, Gaia, the mother of the Earth, and Uranus, the first God of the Sky, gave birth to the twelve Titans. The smallest of them was Cronus. ), Under Gaia’s encouragement, his uncle seized power and became the second king of gods. Kronos cut off the phallus of his father Uranos and threw it into the sea. God’s flesh stirred up waves and thick foam in the sea. Then Aphrodite, a symbol of love and beauty, was born from the foam Aphrodite means “emergence in a bubble,” or foam-arisen). She then took the shell and arrived in Cyprus.
画中的维纳斯面容姣好，身材修长，长发飘飘，但因新世界的到来和众神的簇拥，表情显得略带迷茫。
Venus in the painting has a good-looking face, a slender figure, and long hair, but his expression seems slightly confused because of the arrival of the new world and the crowds of Gods.
左侧的风神鼓起嘴巴轻轻将维纳斯吹向海岸，海面泛起阵阵波浪，他的女伴花神则将下起了玫瑰花雨，增强了这一瞬间的浪漫之感。
The God of Wind on the left flared his mouth and gently blew Venus towards the shore. Waves spread out on the sea surface, while his female companion, the God of Flower, would rain in roses, pouring the sense of romance at this moment.
右侧的春神准备将由鲜花装饰的锦衣披到维纳斯的身上。据说春神所戴的月桂花环和她身旁的月桂树（Laurel）都是对赞助人洛伦佐·德·美蒂奇(Lorenzo de’ Medici)名字的暗示。
The God of Spring on the right is going to put Venus on the body decorated with flowers. The laurel wreath was worn by Spring God and the Laurel beside her hints to the name of the patron Lorenzo de ’Medici.
可以看出画中的人物已经摆脱了中世纪作品中人物的僵硬之感，但维纳斯的整体形象仍然带有哥特式艺术的影子。维纳斯身体的重量没有均匀分布在身体两侧，脖子很长，手足比例也有些夸张。但也正因如此，她看上去更像一个神，一个体态轻盈、漂浮着的神。波提切利比起技巧，更注重感觉，他通过平涂色彩、弱化透视，而强调了轮廓和观感。从构图上来说，维纳斯处于中心位置，略带羞涩与忧伤地“漂”于贝壳之上，风神在左侧飞动，春神在右侧举起斗篷，这一构图带来动与静的对比。天空、花瓣、海浪、月桂树则为画面增加了幽静的意味，也增强了层次感。
The characters in the painting have got rid of the rigidity of the characters in the medieval works, but the overall image of Venus still bears the shadow of Gothic art. Venus’ body weight is not evenly distributed on both sides of the body, the neck is long, and the proportion of hands and feet is a bit exaggerated. But because of this, she looks more like a God, a light, floating god. Botticelli pays more attention to sensation than technique. He emphasizes the outline and look and feel by painting flat colors and a weakening perspective. From the composition point of view, Venus is in the center position, with a little shyness and sadness, “floating” on the shell, the God of Wind flying on the left, and the God of Spring lifting the cloak on the right. The sky, petals, waves, and laurel trees add a sense of tranquility to the picture and also enhance the sense of hierarchy.
如今，这副作品被当代艺术家作为原始素材进行改编、挪用，在流行文化中也占据了一席之地。
Today, this work has been adapted and progressed by contemporary artists as the original material, stoning a place in modern culture.
