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The Venus of Urbino (1538) is an oil painting by the Italian master Titian. It depicts a nude young...

The Venus of Urbino (1538) is an oil painting by the Italian master Titian. It depicts a nude young woman, identified with the goddess Venus, reclining on a couch or bed in the sumptuous surroundings of a Renaissance palace. It hangs in the Galleria degli Uffizi in Florence. The figure's pose is based on Giorgione's Sleeping Venus (c. 1510); however, Titian uses more sensuality in comparison to Giorgione's remoteness. Devoid as it is of any classical or allegorical trappings ('Venus' displays none of the attributes of the goddess she is supposed to represent), the painting is unapologetically erotic. The frankness of Venus' expression is often noted; she stares straight at the viewer, unconcerned with her nudity. In her right hand she holds a posy of flowers whilst her left covers her vulva, provocatively placed in the centre of the composition. In the near background a dog, symbolizing fidelity, is asleep.The image of a dog usually symbolizes faithfulness, and the fact that it is asleep hints that the woman portrayed is unfaithful. The painting was commissioned by Guidobaldo II della Rovere, the Duke of Urbino. It would originally have decorated a cassone, a chest traditionally