Traditional Art @lemmy.world ickplant @lemmy.world 3 mo. ago

"The Toilet of Venus" by Diego Velázquez

14 comments

I think that title could use some work.
- Toilet, which was pronounced with a fancy french accent in the past, would cover everything from the room, to the ass, to what's produced. Putting all those meanings in one word was supposed to cover up the process a bit, give it a bit of class and discretion.
  
  I believe the title can thus be translated to "The Ass of a Sex Goddess".
  
  She’s got junk in her toilet.
  
  It's from the French toilette, which originally meant "dressing room" from toile, meaning cloth. It's used as a euphemism like "restroom" or "washroom" but also still means "getting dressed routine." Eau de toilette (English: toilet water) doesn't mean water from the shitter, it means perfume.
- "Toilet" is also a word for fixing up your appearance, doing everything you do to get ready to go out.
- Yeah, I did some searching and see that the painting is known by that name but didn’t find anything discussing where the name comes from.
  
  Wikipedia states that the original title was “La Venus del espejo” which translates to "The Mirror's Venus"
  
  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rokeby_Venus
  
  So the original title was "The Mirror's Venus" but they decided to go with "The Toilet of Venus"? Brilliant.
  
  So neither the English nor Spanish Wikipedia pages mention it, but La Venus del espejo can also mean Venus of/from the mirror referring to her appearance in said mirror. No idea where they got toilet from. It couldn't be a translation mistake as neither word is anywhere similar to one another
- I mean, tbh it sounds like a euphamism for "cumslut" lol
  
  Her role encompasses aspects of sexuality and fertility, certainly, but to define her as a “cumslut” would be an oversimplification of her significance in Roman culture.
I too shit the bed
Uh isn't that a kid woman ?

You've viewed 14 comments.