Ruth Leon recommends… The Rokeby Venus

One Painting, Many Voices – The Rokeby Venus – National Gallery

 The Rokeby Venus is one of the most puzzling and famous nudes in the National Gallery and, as this video demonstrates, everybody who sees it has a different view of what it is and what it shows.

A variety of women comment on the painting from their own personal or professional perspective, introduced by curator Letitzia Treves, who sets the scene by explaining how little is known about when, why and for whom Diego Velasquez  painted it.

The Rokeby Venus  isn’t even the painting’s original name. We don’t know who the model was but, although she has her back to us, the viewers, we see her face in a mirror held above the bed on which she reclines.

But is that her? Is the woman in the mirror the same woman as the one who shows us only her back? It’s very mysterious but, the closer we look, the deeper its mystery becomes.

  .

Read more