Hereis a rather languid rendition of Venus by French Painter Henri-Pierre Picou (1824-1895). Picou came rather later to classical and mythological subjects, so this was probably painted in the 1870s or 1880s. He was a great friend of Jean-Léon Gérôme and, although largely forgotten today, he was probably the most fashionable French painter of the eighteen fifties and sixties. This depiction of Venus in her shell is unusual compared with the more usual, Botticelli style, upright pose. Painted from this angle it is much more redolent of the vulva, which it symbolised in ancient times (hence why Venus was born from one). I don't like much seafood but I do enjoy a nice plump scallop, as did Picou, obviously.
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