September 30, 2021 – So proud to have presented at the Davies Auditorium (Ashley Hall) the first survey of Venus in the art, culture, and governance of Florence from 1300 to 1600. Dr. Rebekah Compton talked about her book VENUS AND THE ART OF LOVE that investigates on one of the goddess’s alluring attributes – her golden splendor, rosy-hued complexion, enchanting fashions, green gardens, erotic anatomy, and gifts from the sea. By examining these attributes in the context of the visual arts, Compton uncovers an array of materials and techniques employed by artists, patrons, rulers, and lovers to manifest Venusian virtues. She explores technical art history in the context of love’s protean iconography, showing how different discourses and disciplines can interact in the creation and reception of art. Venus and the Arts of Love offers new insights on sight, seduction, and desire, as well as concepts of gender, sexuality, and viewership from both male and female perspectives in the early modern era. The book has Cambridge University as publisher, a very prestigious one that tells you the high level of Rebekah Compton’s research.
