The Sleeping Venus (also known as the Dresden Venus) is currently located at Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister in Dresden, Germany. It measures 42.7 in x 69 in and was painted in 1510 by Giorgio Barbarelli da Castelfranco, otherwise known as Giorgione. The woman depicted in the painting is meant to be Venus herself and it is thought to be the first reclining nude in the history of Western painting. Initially, there was the addition of Cupid seated at Venus’s feet, but it was painted over for some unknown reason. In the 20th century, extensive x-rays were taken of the painting and researchers found that there was a large number of alterations made to the painting before reaching the appearance we see today, namely the landscape behind Venus, the drapery color, and the manner in which her head is positioned.
Giorgione (a nickname that translates to ‘Big George’) was a part of the Venetian School during the High Renaissance, where he was closely associated with Titian, his younger contemporary. The two were apprentices of Giovanni Bellini, worked on frescoes together, and both founded the Venetian School of Italian Renaissance painting.
Giorgione passed away in his 30’s from the plague and was buried on the island of Lazzareto Nuovo, leaving Titian to finish his paintings that were incomplete. The exact paintings that Titian completed are the subject of debate among art historians and critics over the past few centuries. One painting that is known to have been finished by Titian is the aforementioned Sleeping Venus, where Titian completed the landscape and sky as fit. It is widely believed that Titian’s later painting, Venus of Urbino, is inspired by the Sleeping Venus.