Black Venus by Margaret Taylor Goss Piece Analysis
The focus of the piece Black Venus by Margaret Taylor Goss Burroughs is as the title suggests, the Black woman depicted in the center of the image. This piece draws on Roman deity imagery to present the Black woman as a goddess in her own right. The reasoning for this presentation of a Black woman is given partly by the date this image was made, 1957. This was the beginning of the Civil rights movement and a time when America was very racially charged. Given this historical context, Burroughs depiction of a Black Woman as the goddess Venus can better be understood.
The piece contains five main characters, whose positioning along with their relative sizes allows one to elucidate the artist's intention in creating the image. When looking at the piece it is clear that everything is orientated around “Venus”. Although she is the darkest figure in this image, there is a significant amount of white surrounding her head to midsection creating an illusion of light that draws further attention to her. There are smaller winged figures, which will be referred to as attendants for this analysis, that surround Venus on her left and right. The size of these attendants alone shows that the attendants are not the focus of this art, because, in comparison to Venus, these attendants are about 1/3 her size. Additionally, although the piece is two-dimensional the positioning of these attendants on angled axes creates the idea that they are behind Venus. They are in her vicinity, but not close enough to take the attention away from her. This circumferential but posterior position further illuminates the reverence these attendants have of Venus.
The next figure is a man positioned to the bottom left of Venus. In terms of body proportions, he appears similar to Venus; however, he is similar to the attendants in that he is positioned adjacent to Venus. This positioning becomes more interesting once the identity of the man is known. The man is bearded and has fairly long hair. Additionally, he wears a crown and is holding a thin spearheaded staff. The crown he wears indicates that he is of royal or of divine descent. The combination of these features references characteristics of the Roman god Neptune. The fact that he is depicted on the waves further supports this conclusion. If this man is taken to be what he is, Neptune, the god of the sea, should be positioned next to Venus as they are both divine figures. The fact that the artist intentionally placed him below Venus shows that Venus and everything she represents is above and more important than Neptune. The last figures in this image are two eels positioned at the feet of Venus. Venus holds the whiskers of these eels in her hands and appears to control their path. Although the two eels are water creatures and thus should be under Neptune’s domain, eels show that all creatures revere her and recognize her power. Her lack of ornaments further suggests the expansiveness of her power. She wears no crown nor holds any scepter; however, her power is easily seen in this image.
The artist makes subtle but intentional choices to show the strength, grace, and control of Venus. Her strength is shown most notably in her positioning and size in relation to other figures in the print; however, the impression of power is interesting when considering how Venus is depicted. Venus is typically depicted naked; although most of her body is relatively anatomically correct her hands and feet are somewhat claw-like indicating that although this woman is graceful, she wields a threatening and possibly deadly power. Venus is the ultimate show of power under control; to guide the eels, she holds their whiskers, however, her hold is light and dainty. Showing that her dominion over these creatures is easy and natural for her. This aspect of her power is further illustrated by her surroundings. The consistent humps on the bottom of the page (in addition to the eels and Neptune) indicate that Venus is orientated on top of the water. Water generally moves and is not still, however the positioning of Venus' feet does not indicate that she is standing on anything with crests and troughs. Interestingly, her left foot is positioned in front of her right in a way reminiscent of Egyptian depictions of Pharaohs, suggesting that she is in motion, probably walking across the water. This makes the message of this imagery more clear, Venus is so powerful and significant that everything orients itself to her when she appears and passes by.
Given the time at which this piece was created the color of the piece was intentional. This piece is a linocut print, so if the artist had wanted to create the typical Roman imagery of Venus, the goddess could have been depicted in mostly white, with black details, this however is not the case. Venus is black, and features are shown in the faintest amount of white detailing. The amount of ink used to depict her in relation to the other figures suggests that she is the only Black figure depicted. This decision was the artist's way of conveying that Black women are powerful and deserve to be viewed and treated as the center of attention. Although there is a lot of action happening around Venus, she is shown as a calm graceful figure. This further shows the artist intent in highlighting Black women as people with strength.
