The Rokeby Venus: Velázquez’s only surviving nude | The National Gallery
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- Опубліковано 3 тра 2018
- Since the National Gallery acquired Diego Velázquez’s ‘Rokeby Venus’ in 1906, it has become one of the most popular paintings in our collection. But who is the mysterious Venus looking at and what do we know about the origins of this work by the greatest painter of 17th century Spain? Find out all this and more with Francesca Whitlum-Cooper, Associate Curator of Paintings 1600-1800, as she walks us through the surprising history of the only surviving nude by Velázquez.
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Thanks to Francesca’s presentation of Velasquez’s masterpiece my eyes have been opened. She has the gift of garnering so many essential details and pulling you in into her intense aesthetic reactions that keep you mesmerized. Thank you, Francesca.
This the second lecture I'm seeing from the national gallery, and must say how wonderfully entertaining and informative they are. I don't know the young lady speaking, but I found her precentation charming and impressive. I look forward to watching more. ♡
I know that you think that you’re comment is complimentary, but you’re misgendering this speaker, nowhere do they say that they are male or female so one can assume that they are neither and either non binary, genderqueer, agender, bigender, genderfluid or even multigender
The speaker touched on everything I would have wanted her to do, and all that in just 27 minutes or so. And in what I have come to appreciate as an indubitably National Gallery virtuoso oral presentation style. Grazie mille !
These lunch time talks the National Gallery puts on have all be excellent - informative, entertaining, and those I've seen have given me a deeper appreciation for the works of art discussed.
We take a lot for granted these days. So many of these works were created for private owners. Even if they weren't, they were usually in places where only a relatively small number of people could ever see them, in situ.
It's really amazing and wonderful that our culture has created museums like this, to display and care for these works of art for ALL of us. The people able to go to a museum in person, and even more of us who are able to take part remotely, is a gift beyond price.
Thank you, National Gallery.
Thank you very much, Francesca, for such an excellent presentation of this masterpiece by Velazquez.
Diego Velazquez is one of my all-time favorite painters!
Looking at this painting without knowing anything about it you would think its a late 19th century French school Incredible that it was created in 1647!! way ahead of his time stylistically!! fantastic presentation and she is very beautiful herself!
Being this painting one of my favorites at the National Gallery, this talk almost made me cry. I always feel, whilst observing this painting as if it could have been just taken out fresh from Velazquez´s studio. Thank you! lovely talk!
It’s incredibly contemporary - all his works with attribution to short stay in Italy are so innovative, free and full of life. True masterpiece with enigma to boot. French Impressionism 400 years later created similar nude ness. And here we are in cloistered environment of Escorial with stiff ceremonies and conventions, and suddenly such an explosion of freshness.
Absolutely amazing! Perfectly pitched and very inciteful - I love these lectures!
The eye is drawn to the center of the painting because the indentation of the hip of the Venus is so anatomically correct and beautiful
painted.
Velazquez is so amazing. This painting is Magnifica!
Terrific presentation-- I'm completely with you in the progression of your reading, in your interpretation of how we look first at this painting.
I love this painting so much tht this video ispired me to purchase a reproduction of it and now I couldnt be happier. Thank you, Don Diego, for creating such a breathtaking masterpiece.
Absolutely wonderful! These programmes are such a treasure.
What a fantastic presentation! The very model of a great art lecture. Much appreciated!
Really excellent talk, very excited to see this in person at some point. Thanks a lot
Thank you so much!!!! This made my friday
Thank you for the presentation Francesca! Clear and stimulating talk!
Thank you for giving me some much more of the history of such a fantastic painting.
Excellent presentation. This is one of my favorite paintings, thanks for sharing these videos.
Beautiful flesh tones and curves.What is surprising is that the painting is nearly 400 years old.Her figure would be gorgeous now whereas others of the era like Rubens were much heftier.
Thanks for sharing! I’ve learnt a lot!
This was truly a wonderful talk. The NG has really fabulous speakers and curators that we the public have benefited from.
Thank you, Francesca. Your talk was informative an uplifting.
The presenter actually looks like Venus in the painting using the same hairstyle. Great lecture!
Incredible job Francesca thank you so much for this 😊
Impressed by your brilliant introduction - that being to ask questions rather hurl forth facts !
Gracias Francesca
Brilliant analysis that covers the history, artistic techniques, and mystery that make this painting so fascinating.
Another wonderful video from the gallery
I love this series. I truly do. Thank you.
Thank you Francesca! Your way of explaining is lovely to listen 👏👏👏
I feel so lucky that I was able to see this painting last summer. It was one of the highlights of my trip to London. Very good talk, thank you.
These types of presentations really set the National Gallery apart. The knowledge and enthusiasm of the presenters never fail to both inform and entertain. When conservatives ask why funds should be “wasted” on the arts, when there is so much need elsewhere, one only has to attend one of these talks to appreciate how inspiring art can be to people of all ages. What a tragic loss it would indeed be if the public were deprived of the immense richness of human creativity.
I love that painting ❤️ so beautiful!
i love this - more Velázquez please!
Someone (the speaker, Francesca Whitlum-Cooper) so good, I've to send her a note of praise, great presentation 👏👏👏! In this painting, Velazquez has elevated this nude woman to Venus through his brushes.
Truly an excellent presentation. Thank you!
Wow! What a presentation. Brilliant.
Great presentarion, with so many facts so quickly. The wallpaper is perfect for this beautiful painting of Venus. Lovely
Excellent video, excellent explanation 👏👏 Thank you very much!
Thank you for shearing.
Certainly stunning , I can't not describe how interesting this was , great speaker and greater artist indeed
Very nice presentation. I liked how you posed all of the questions at the onset. Much appreciated.
Amazing presentation! This saved my lunch today ❤ … please more of the series
A wonderful painting!
This is so interesting ! Thank you very much.
Wonderful painting and talk!
Splendid presentation (nice painting too)
Superb presentation on the painting.
Excellent presentation! Thank you so much.
Jack Says Fritzy
JONATHAN SUTCLIFFE Nonsense🧐
Absolutely loved it
Excellent, many thanks🙂👍🙂
Fantastic video
That was brilliant!
Maravillosa explicación
I love the curators energy
Excellent, great pace interesting facts.
very nice lecture
Awesome painting.
Brilliant lecture. Thanks 🖼
Glad you enjoyed it
Great lesson 👏👏🌼🌻🌺🌹
This is great.
What a wonderful way Velazquez brings to us the Apotheosis of the human figure. The form is so beautiful, its line is pure poetry, the dorsal view is indeed unique and so well presented in this talk. The mirror reflects a more intimate reality of the figure, thereby allowing the viewer to see an uninterrupted view of her back - the flow of form standing alone for our contemplation. Remember that this beautiful painting was ATTACKED by a seriously mentally ill fanatic. But thanks to the Conservators - we can see this wonderful beauty before us!
The sitter’s blurred face is perfectly naturalistic. Given the viewer’s standpoint, the mirror is in shadow, and at some distance. The painting, apart from being one of the greatest marvels of Western painting, is full of ambiguity, deliberately deployed by a genius.
This comment was a wonderful read. Thank you.
Stolen picture.
Awesome
I love the painted perfection of the skin of the woman and such an interesting talk.
Vraiment magnifique!!!!
Excellent.
I was there more than 10 years ago. Wonder when I will be able to go there again.
Cupid and Psyche, I must say. You are a very eloquent curator!
The speaker has allowed us to see more of the painted hairstyle by adopting it. I also enjoy way the seemingly identical depicted wall and curtain in the portrait to the right extend the fictional space.
Thank you very much, what a great lecture :-)
As is mentioned part way in, this Venus painting isn't about the viewer. It's about Venus herself. I love that we don't directly look into her eyes, she's allowed to keep secrets. Plus looking at a naked goddess tends to shorten your life somewhat in most of the myths ;-)
The National Gallery: VERY INTERESTING HISTORY!
Wow...😊❤❤❤⚜⚜⚜
Of all the people they chose somebody who resembles the painting to do the explanation? :D No criticism tho, very knowledgeable and clear speech, she's great.
That's my favorite rock dude
I think Dr Francesca is a wonderful scholar and narrator-erudite and friendly-but I wish people would stop suggesting that Caravaggio was the inventor of Tenebrism. Northern painters and Venetian painters were painting "Caravaggism" long before Caravaggio was even born. What Caravaggio brought to Rome was the addition of mirror projections-hence a heightened Realism-onto the Tenebrist "look".
Knowing Velazquez, I can add an unusual and absurd hypothesis: in front of Venus there may be a portrait, not a mirror.
Gold
Excellent performance. My imagination tells me to present myself to her and just to kiss her feet in order to show my admiration and gratitude to our eternal Mahashakti who is within her.
It is interesting that also in the Heliad Homer does not describe the face of Helen at all.He just lets people imagine by them selves that she is the most beautiful woman in the world.He lets them discover in their minds their own perfect Helen.
Eu escrevo do sul do Brasil. E em aulas de história da arte do barroco eu nunca tive contato com Velásquez. Apesar dele ser um dos nomes mais importantes da arte produzida pela Espanha, país católico, durante a colonização do América, o que mais me chama atenção é quadro As Meninas: trata-se de uma retratação sutil sobre o futuro. Sobre quem estaria saindo da cena e quem estaria subindo ao poder. Trata-se de uma obra fascinante e requer muita inteligência para a entender.
That blurriness of your brush, Velásquez 😘 hoy cow!!
No doubt it is one of the most evocative nudes...why need imagine anything further than what is presented? And considering the restrictions around nudes at the time, I would think that his keeping the soft vague features in the looking glass is a gesture of respect towards keeping the real Venus' anonymity. This suggests that the model may well have been connected personally to V in some way.
i think she is intended to be a human being...the mirror is just to say...that everyone has their own perceptions of beauty...even a woman so beautiful is unsure of her own attraction...and those thoughts change....so naturally the mirror can not be defined....and beauty ,,,does not require to be surrounded with jewels and fancy fabrics....the entire painting is saying...when you see beauty...that in itself is enough!...stop looking for more
This painting is complicated so Mary Richardson's motivation for attacking it. I am against these kinds of property destruction but sometimes if you want to be heard you have to be loud.
"I have tried to destroy the picture of the most beautiful woman in mythological history as a protest against the Government for destroying Mrs Pankhurst, who is the most beautiful character in modern history. Justice is an element of beauty as much as colour and outline on canvas. Mrs Pankhurst seeks to procure justice for womanhood, and for this she is being slowly murdered by a Government of Iscariot politicians. If there is an outcry against my deed, let every one remember that such an outcry is an hypocrisy so long as they allow the destruction of Mrs Pankhurst and other beautiful living women, and that until the public cease to countenance human destruction the stones cast against me for the destruction of this picture are each an evidence against them of artistic as well as moral and political humbug and hypocrisy."
El Baño de Venus, Belleza & Vanidad
I remember having seen in a psychology (?) book (librarian here, too much books as to actually remember which one - but I do remember the b/w photo) that the mirror doesn't point at her face, but at her torso.
(Checked online, couldn't find it. My imagination is not so vivid as to create such elaborate conundrums :-)
Edit. After more checking, didn't find the photo I remember, but I found this subject has been studied and it is called Venus Effect. There's a Wikipedia article and everything :-)
She even has the same hairstyle. I wonder if it was on purpose since it's one of her favorites.
Wow I didn't notice until you mentioned it! Bet she's a time Lady/Lord
By golly, it’s quite remarkable!
One of the first things I noticed is that the reflected face in the mirror is not what you would see with her lying that far from the mirror. It would be smaller. So it is not intended to be "realistic." Perhaps he had to do that to compose the painting as he wanted, or perhaps there's a meaning in that distortion. I would have liked to hear about why cupid would be showing Venus her reflection. Is there a comment being made about the ideal of beauty versus the imperfection of reality . . .
This is an excellent and insightful presentation. I learned some interesting details. I did not realize creation and ownership of such paintings was illegal in Spain in the time-frame in which this work was created. I believe it is a universal truth, across all centuries and cultures: man appreciates and yearns to see the beauty of woman. It is not always a sexual urge, and I don't really see 'Rokeby Venus' as a sexual painting. I do find in this painting a dual truth. Yes, most men would proudly embrace the opportunity to gaze daily at this Venus in the privacy of their own home. But what you did not consider is how Venus is gazing at herself in the mirror. I don't believe Diego included the mirror so the viewer of the painting could see Venus' face. Instead I believe it is a commentary on how beautiful women enjoy seeing themselves reflected in a mirror! One can call that vanity, but in truth woman can also appreciate the beauty of woman. A woman who can appreciate her own beauty without conceit is a wonderful thing indeed.
As much as I want to agree with you, the optics are such that it is impossible for Venus to be looking at herself in the mirror as we as viewers can see her face. Therefore she must in turn be looking at us. The question of whether or not we are invited to look back or not is probably more pressing. At the same time, the notion of having a mirror in her 'toilette' at all does seem to suggest a certain vanity and self-appreciation but certainly in this moment she is more focused on her viewers than on herself.
Amen 🙏👍🏻😇🌺
I have to say one of the first things I saw was the cupid. There is a strong diagonal across to the "venus" figure. Given we know so little about this work, I for one, am loath to read too much into it. Give the language of art of the period, and art is heavily codified through history. we can draw inference from it. Some of the language that would have been clear to contemporaries, but are not to us. However it is all too easy to over-interpret., to see too much through modern eyes. One point: do you notice that the venus and the cleric hanging next to her, has the same color of drapery behind them. What does this particular color convey? Certain colors were more expensive to make, like lapis and certain reds and greens, as they were of natural materials. Pink was popularized through interior design, so is a fashionable color in the 17th century
Isn't Velazquez just a really really early precursor of impressionism?
Yes, he is. His two paintings of Villa Medici are a great example. Velázquez en later Goya are the "fathers" of impressionism.
Do Andrea Previtali
🇹🇷😍🤗 MUHTEŞEM.....!!!!
As I listened to the presenter I couldn't help but see her as the woman in this painting.
Thank you for your erudition and interest in this painting. I am curious whether you consulted actual painters about this painting.
I find the simplicity and lack of sort of "show off" details extremely interesting here. You did not explore the significance of her being not frontal but looking at you in the mirror. You are right about the curves and finish on her flesh. But, I always feel that Velasquez is speaking of real attraction between real people (no sensational details, no rich flesh). To me this is his great accomplishment here.
I've checked the Rokeby Park website, the painting is not hung above the fireplace at the moment. www.rokebypark.com/