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Wed Oct 01, 2008 3:42 am  |
Wow, Lara1, what a charming and sophisticated thing to hear from your date; I think that you should absolutely take it as a compliment!!
I agree with Cathy_Jean that it's the shape of the eye and the lids rather than any specific color. To most people, his remark would have connotations with very pretty, sort of almond shaped eyes (without slanting up at the outer corners), with slightly heavy upper lids (sultry!) and a full lower lid below the lash line. (One contemporary pair of eyes I think would fit as "Botticellian" in a way might be Uma Thurman's.)
At the very least, I would suspect he meant your eyes are memorable. 
Here is an excellent online image of one of his most famous works, The Birth of Venus. Note the same eye shape and face in one of his paintings of "the Madonna".
Apparently he repeatedly patterned the subtly stylized shape based on the eyes of his beloved muse/model, Simonetta Vespucci:
"...Only shortly after her arrival in Florence, Simonetta became known as "La Bella Simonetta," attracting the attention of poets and artists like Botticelli. They vied to honor her with their artistic creations. At the age of fifteen, Simonetta married a cousin of Amerigo Vespucci, the famous Italian explorer for whom America was named. It was through the Vespucci family connection that Simonetta first met Botticelli and the Medici family, prominent political figures and art patrons.
...The face of Simonetta personified the Italian Renaissance concept of ideal beauty. This was important to artists like Botticelli, who thought that outward beauty reflected inner beauty or virtue (spiritual beauty). Simonetta died in 1476 at the age of twenty-two, but Botticelli continued to feature her image in his art for the rest of his life. All of Botticelli's female art images were portraits of Simonetta. Upon his death three decades later, Botticelli requested to be buried at Simonetta's feet."
—The Face That Launched a Thousand Prints
Swoon. Seriously.
No idea why your friend thinks "it is not a good thing to say to someone" or why she would ever consider the remark an insult. I'm really curious; can you find out more about why she believes that? Maybe she doesn't really understand who Botticelli was or why his artwork is particularly known for beautiful renderings of distinctive female faces?
There is a book called "The Girl with the Botticelli Eyes" by Herbert Lieberman, where "...a curator of Renaissance painting at the Metropolitan Museum of Art goes to Europe and meets a beautiful young woman, Isobel Cattaneo, a direct descendant of Botticelli's famed model and mistress, Simonetta"
French-born contemporary jazz musician and composer Philippe Saisse wrote a song called "The Girl with Botticelli Eyes" on his Halfway to Dawn album.
How often do men write songs about unattractive eyes??! 
OK. I've exercised my inner Art Geek enough and must get to bed!  |
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