Revealing the true identity of "Venus" – the most famous painting of all time

The truth about “Venus” was finally discovered by historians after more than 500 years of being buried.

The painting “The Birth Venus” is the most classic work of the genius Italian artist Sandro Botticelli painted in pre-Renaissance Italy. thought to have been buried after more than 500 years of history, but recently historians have begun to find clues about this woman believed to be a symbol of fertility, pleasure and beauty.

Revealing the true identity of "Venus" - the most famous painting of all time
The painting “The Birth Venus” at the Museum of Fine Arts, Florence, Italy.

Clues to the truth about “Venezue” were found when Simonetta Cattaneo – the curator of an art gallery in London asserted that the woman still known as ” Venezue” in Sandro Botticelli’s painting was her ancestor.

Simonetta shares the story of this mysterious woman from what she has been passed down by her family for generations. She said, the mysterious woman in the picture is one of her ancestors, she was born in 1453, married at the age of 16 and moved to Florence not long after.

“Painters and poets were all inspired by her, including Botticelli. One could say that she was a symbol of beauty in Florence at the time, like the woman in the picture. She was even crowned as the “Beauty Queen” of the city in 1475.

Revealing the true identity of "Venus" - the most famous painting of all time
Simonetta Cattaneo next to the painting “The Birth Venus” at the Museum of Fine Arts, Florence, Italy.

The story of Simonetta Cattaneo’s ancestry has been corroborated by Rocky Ruggiero, a Renaissance art expert from Rhode Island. He said while there is little documentation of the woman’s relationship with Botticelli, the story is “very likely”.

“They both live on Via Nuova, a small street, 200 meters apart. So the reality is that they can see each other on the street very often.”

The story becomes even more “worthy” when the painter Botticelli and the woman – the ancestor of Simonetta Cattaneo are buried side by side in a Church.

“When her ancestor Simonetta died in 1476, her funeral was held in a very special way, in which the coffin was opened, so that the people of Florence could see her beauty once more before she was passed away. buried forever” – according to Ruggiero. “Thirty-four years later, when Botticelli died, he specifically requested to be buried here. So today we can see their graves are always placed next to each other.”