This Girl is on Fire
Woman as Goddess
Curated by Emma Krasnopoler

Diego Velasquez, The Toilet of Venus, 1650

When Velasquez painted The Toilet of Venus in 1647, nudity in Spain was heavily denounced. Except for the old masters’ paintings of gods and goddesses, contemporary artists were forbidden from painting nude figures, especially female nudes, which were considered disgraceful. The price for painting a nude painting was condemnation, banishment, and even excommunication. Everyone thought Velasquez would be subject to these consequences, yet somehow, due to favoritism or just fame, Velasquez managed to display his Venus without punishment. Philip IV proudly displayed the painting along with other paintings of nudes by Titian and Rubens.

But this post isn’t really about Velasquez. It’s about the woman in the painting. I feel as though I am interrupting a private moment between this woman and her reflection. She is enthralled with the face in the mirror, and I doubt she even realizes I am watching her. Who is she? Although the chubby Cupid beside her designates her as a goddess, she does not look like the typical Venus figure that appeared in many mythological paintings before this. Her buxom figure, pink flesh, and plain face differentiate her from other Venuses, yet Velasquez still calls her a goddess. What does she lack that other Venuses have? She has the youthful glow, perfect complexion, and enviable figure. While she may be a daughter of some court member, or even a prostitute, she also could very well be Venus.

I chose this painting to commence this series not because this woman is doing anything extraordinary, or because she is the most beautiful or progressive woman, but because she defies the standards of her time that condemned female nudity and demonstrates that any woman can be a goddess.