“Hey, why is that girl naked?” Olivia asked as we gazed up at Bouguereau’s “Birth of Venus”, dominating the entry salon at the Frist Museum in Nashville. I immediately reflected on Music Row’s Brad Paisley, but thought better of offering his interpretation on the matter. I rambled on about the neo-classic motif as she quickly lost interest in me and the magnificent nude on the wall. The painting, along with 100 other masterpieces from the mid-to-late 19th century, was on loan from the Musee d’Orsay in Paris via the exhibit, The Birth of Impressionism. It is a matchless collection of art this side of the Atlantic Ocean. These avant-garde artists, including Monet, Manet and Renoir, employed vivid hues and discernable brushstrokes to capture the affects of light and movement on their subjects. Their new approach had a dramatic affect on modern art, and just as these optical realists laid the foundation for Picasso, they too stood on the shoulders of artistic giants who paved the way for their own interpretation of reality. Before Cezanne and Pissarro came Leonardo, Michelangelo and Sandro.
Sometime in the mid 14th century something unthinkable happened in Europe; the lights came back on. The feudal days of plague and pestilence slowly dissolved as stability and confidence spread throughout the continent with the rise of towns and city-states. Hierarchy, birth and military prowess were replaced by ambition, wealth, innovation and above all, individual achievement. The primacy of secularism and individualism became the hallmarks of Renaissance society. Intrigued by city life and new found wealth, urban merchants became increasingly less concerned about the salvation of the after-life, now that the pleasure of living well could be found on earth. Moreover, the needs of the people were continually sacrificed for the distinction of the few. Sound eerily familiar?
This radical shift in European civilization manifested itself in politics, economics, philosophy and above all art. More than just a period of history, this cultural movement wove itself into the fabric of western life. Simply put, the Renaissance was an age of transition, with God moving out from the center of medieval life and man taking His place on center stage.
There is no better visual representation of this shift away from the Gothic culture than Botticelli’s own “Birth of Venus”. As a Neo-Platonist, Botticelli tried to synthesize the Greco-Roman ideals of harmony, mythology and reason with those of Christianity. The nude goddess bears the image of ideal love and beauty, while her modest tilt of the head is the traditional pose of the Virgin Mary. For Botticelli, the purity of Mary and the sensuality of Venus were identical. Art once again mirrored society. As European values changed, so did artistic themes. More and more, especially during the Renaissance, artistic expressions displayed secular rather than spiritual interests. Though the continent remained deeply religious, the bourgeoisie struggled to reconcile revelation and reason, raising the bar for human dignity while simultaneously pushing God into the background.
Humanity has always struggled with whether to place God or man at the focal point on the canvas of life. The more comfortable we become, the less we need a savior. As civilization arose from the Dark Ages and into modernity, we quickly outgrew our need for God. I’m reminded of the warning found in Deuteronomy, which is fitting for both our culture and the people of the Italian Renaissance:
Be careful that you don’t forget the Lord your God by failing to keep His command…When you eat and are full, and build beautiful houses to live in and your herds and flocks grow large, and your silver and gold multiply, and everything else you have increases, be careful that your heart does not become proud and you forget the Lord you God….You may say to yourself, ‘My power and my own ability have gained this wealth for me,’ but remember that the Lord your God gives you the power to gain wealth, in order to confirm His covenant He swore to your fathers, as it is today. If you ever forget the Lord your God and go after other gods to worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will surely be destroyed.
We’ll find that as we make our way through the annals of history, mankind continues to pay no heed to this universal warning.
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