National Numismatic Collection , National Museum of American History , Washington , DC
FIGURE 4 : $ 3 note from the Bank of Augusta in Augusta , GA , circa mid-1820s ( remainder ).
compared a prostitute he had encountered on the streets of London to Barry ’ s picture , which was then on display at the Royal Academy . Gainsborough cheekily lamented that on his visit to London from Bath he had almost no time for pleasure “ except only a little Venus rising from the Sea in my way to my Lodgings , the same that is puff ’ d off at our Exhibition I believe for her hair was d — md red .” For him , comparing Barry ’ s academic nude to a red-haired prostitute was fair game . Although the Irish artist had intended only an image of heroic beauty befitting a goddess , some viewers , then and now , were inclined to experience a more carnal reaction , demonstrating that , even within the walls of high art , female nudity could be problematic .
If nudity in paintings could provoke comment in London , a sophisticated European capital , then it was an even more fraught problem in America , where Barry ’ s image arrived primarily through the agency of two prints . The first was the impressive mezzotint by Valentine Green , dated November 16 , 1772 ( Figure 5 ); the second was a smaller , less-ambitious stipple engraving by G . S . and I . G . Facius , dated July 1 , 1778 , which adapted the rectangular image to an oval format . Presumably , Green ’ s image helped inspire an important early American painting , Raphaelle Peale ’ s Venus Rising from the Sea — A Deception , circa 1822 ( Figure 6 ). This Philadelphia artist painted a linen cloth as if it was draped over a canvas on which was painted Barry ’ s Venus , with only a foot and flowers glimpsed below and the raised arm with the flowing locks of hair above .
Peale ’ s conception is exceedingly complex with a range of both private and public meanings — speculation ranges from “ a dream image , a joke , a scathing social critique , a psychological puzzle and even a painted suicide note .” The level that most concerns us is his biting humor alluding to America ’ s uneasiness with the display of the nude , even in terms of high art . Peale , who pointedly placed his signature on the cloth , is forced to cover his recreation of Barry ’ s Venus . But the “ modest ” covering makes the goddess even more salacious , as the viewer ’ s imagination is called on to fill in the blanks . After Peale ’ s early death in 1825 , the painting remained in his family ’ s hands in Philadelphia . Rawdon may well have seen or known of Peale ’ s work . Like Peale , he saw Barry ’ s design as a point of departure for his own ideas and purposes , with both men displaying a daring originality in their interpretations .
Despite Peale ’ s witty reluctance to show Venus whole , Rawdon boldly and literally
placed Barry ’ s nude in circulation . In contrast to Peale , his primary audience was neither his family nor the art-loving public , but those white males engaged in the new nation ’ s commercial activities . Uninterested in creating a precise copy , he took ample liberties in transferring the design . In the lower right in the distance behind the tail of the seahorse , Rawdon sketched Neptune being pulled along while standing in his shell chariot . Behind and to the right of Neptune is the mast of a ship . Thus , the meaning of this Venus becomes clear — she is a captivating example of navigation and commerce on the high seas . To drive home his point , Rawdon transformed the figure of Cupid , giving him attributes belonging to Mercury . Instead of a bow in his left hand , Mercury holds his caduceus , while in his right hand , he daringly holds a bag of money ; in addition , Cupid ’ s wings have been converted into swirling drapery .
In majesty and splendor , Venus rules the waves on which seafaring commerce plies its trade . An alternative title for Venus Rising from the Sea and Venus Anadyomene is the Birth of Venus , since she sprang up from the waves fully formed . Thus , Rawdon ’ s image is not about all seafaring countries but only its newest member , the fledgling republic , which is taking its place
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