Where to See The Birth of Venus: Musée d'Orsay, Paris

Alexandre Cabanel created a sensation at the Paris Salon of 1863 with this reclining Venus floating on the sea. Cherubs fly above her while she stretches languidly, eyes half-closed, one arm raised above her head. The composition offers the sensuality of a nude with the excuse of mythological subject matter.

Napoleon III himself purchased the painting immediately after the Salon. The year 1863 was dubbed the "Salon of the Venuses" for the number of alluring nudes on display, and Cabanel's won the emperor's favor over works by competitors. The same Salon rejected Manet's controversial Déjeuner sur l'herbe.

Writer Émile Zola criticized the painting's ambiguity: "The goddess, drowned in a sea of milk, resembles a delicious courtesan." But the public loved it. Cabanel made multiple versions, and the original remains at the Musée d'Orsay, a landmark of French Academic painting.

The original 1863 version is at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris. Later versions exist at the Metropolitan Museum in New York and the Dahesh Museum.

Napoleon III purchased it directly from the 1863 Salon for his personal collection. The emperor's patronage helped establish Cabanel's reputation.

It measures 130 x 225.3 cm (about 51 x 89 inches). Cabanel later made smaller and larger versions of the composition.

It's French Academic Art, combining classical mythology with idealized beauty. Cabanel used smooth technique and soft pink flesh tones typical of the official style.

The original 1863 version is at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris. Later versions exist at the Metropolitan Museum in New York and the Dahesh Museum.

Napoleon III purchased it directly from the 1863 Salon for his personal collection. The emperor's patronage helped establish Cabanel's reputation.

It measures 130 x 225.3 cm (about 51 x 89 inches). Cabanel later made smaller and larger versions of the composition.

It's French Academic Art, combining classical mythology with idealized beauty. Cabanel used smooth technique and soft pink flesh tones typical of the official style.

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