Lot 36: Birth of Venus

Farah Ossouli (Iranian, b. 1953)
Birth of Venus
signed and dated 'Farah Ossouli 2007' (lower left) and signed and dated in Farsi (lower right)
gouache and gold on card
29½ x 43 3/8in. (75 x 110cm.)
Painted in 2007

Sandro Botticelli's Birth of Venus expresses great hopes of the Renaissance period for the rebirth of humanity. Inspired by Botecelli's work and merging it with the traditions of Persian painting, Farah Ossouli depicts a contemporary Iranian Venus. In Ossouli's painting Venus is fully dressed and covering part of her body with a scarf is standing on a shell. Further details thare are changed in Ossouli's version include the man shown spreading a blanket patterned with stars over Venus, thus symbolizing darkness, concealment and infinity.
Dense iconography populates the painting, with geometric divisions of the illustrating the perpetual sequence of day and night as well as the continuity of life in various layers of time and space. Cypresses represent youthful pride; buds symbolize spring and rejuvenation. The moon illuminates the sky and the river denotes the passing life. The sun appears from behind the clouds and birds are on the wing in the upper part of the painting, as according to Graeco-Roman mythology, Venus will eventually fly to the skies along with the birds.