nickdrake:

Sandro Botticelli, The Birth of Venus, 1480, Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence.
This painting, which derives its subject from Homeric literature,
and from Ovid’s Metamorphoses and Fasti,
is a return to classical paganism, with allegorical overtones.

Botticelli’s large scale paintings are probably the most impressive work I’ve ever seen in person; the color and contrast still pops after 500+years. Viewing Birth of Venus or Primavera from a couple feet away is far more compelling than craning your neck over a ten-deep crowd to see the tiny Mona Lisa behind glass. No disrespect intended to Mr. Da Vinci.