The Birth of Venus (Botticelli, 1484)

Sandro Botticelli's c.1484-1486 tempera painting depicting the goddess Venus emerging from the sea fully grown is one of the best-known works of the Italian Renaissance. The 172 x 278 cm painting, now at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, was commissioned by the Medici family and represents the first large-scale non-religious nude female figure in Western art since antiquity. The Uffizi receives 4+ million visitors annually, with Botticelli's works — including The Birth of Venus — among the most photographed in the museum.