When Venus Meets Vienna: Judith Rose’s Luminous Diptych | Art Critiques from a Chocolate Lab
Laying before Judith Rose’s diptych "Beauty Arrives" at the Talented Friends Gallery, I found myself caught between two worlds, two eras, two aesthetic philosophies that should clash but instead sing in unexpected harmony. I’ll admit I was initially distracted by what appeared to be a croissant crumb on the gallery floor (false alarm, sadly), but once I settled into my viewing position, the work demanded my full attention.
Rose has done something audacious here. She’s taken the flowing grace of Botticelli’s Renaissance and collided it with Klimt’s decorative maximalism, creating a work that exists in neither century but speaks to our own. The left panel presents a female figure emerging from what might be water or wind or pure gold itself, her form outlined with Botticelli’s characteristic sinuous line. The pearl-smooth skin is surrounded with Klimt’s ornamental gold, geometric patterns, and swirls that seem to pulse with their own rhythm.
The right panel introduces narrative tension that made my ears perk up considerably. Here we meet Summer, the handmaiden, approaching with a voluptuous red robe meant to cloak Venus. But here’s the brilliance: Venus has already clocked her. That direct stare out at us, the viewers—it’s electric. She knows Summer is coming, she knows we’re watching, and she’s decided to lock eyes with us anyway, creating a triangle of awareness that pins us in place like a well-trained sit-stay good-boy command.
Summer moves with dutiful purpose
This is the moment of choice frozen in paint. As Summer moves with dutiful purpose, Venus has already made her decision. That gaze is knowing, perhaps amused, certainly unbothered. As a pup who’s been “caught in the act” (the lamb chop grab from the plate in 2025 remains a misunderstanding), I recognise that look! It says: yes, I see you seeing me, and I’m not moving.
What Rose understands, and what makes this diptych succeed where so many historical mashups fail, is that both Botticelli and Klimt were obsessed with the same question: how do we represent the transcendent in paint? Botticelli answered with idealised beauty and mythological distance. Klimt answered with sensory overload and embrace. Rose suggests they were asking the same question in different languages—and then she adds a third voice: the voice of agency, of the viewed looking back.
The oil and acrylic medium itself becomes crucial here. The richness of the paint moves between translucent Renaissance glazes and Klimt’s impastoed golden surfaces within the same composition. You can see her brushwork struggling, negotiating, making peace between these opposing forces. The textures so pronounced I had to resist the professional urge to investigate it more closely with my nose—gallery policy prevented me, you understand.
If there’s a weakness, it’s that the work is almost too self-aware of its art historical pedigree. But perhaps that’s the point in our image-saturated age. Rose seems to be saying: we can’t see Venus without seeing all the Venuses that came after. We can’t look at beauty without our eyes being pre-trained by five centuries of painting.
From Botticelli's Renaissance masterpiece to contemporary interpretations, the Venus motif has shaped our understanding of beauty for centuries—training our eyes to recognise and appreciate certain aesthetic ideals.
This is ambitious, deeply felt work that trusts viewers to bring their own art history to the viewing experience. In return, it offers something rare: a genuine conversation between past and present that enriches both. I give is four paws and an enthusiastic tail wag. I would view again, especially if the opening reception includes those small sandwiches (failing that there is a great cafe adjoining).
Judith Rose’s diptych is on view at Talented Friends Gallery through until March 2026.
Vincent van Dog
Chief Art Critic, Studio Manager and Very Good Boy!
P.S - My human "helps" me type!
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