Before photography, the only opportunity to see your face, painters took advantage of the Venus Effect to break optical rules and show faces that couldn’t have been seen in the mirror.
Venus
Blurring for dramatic effect, and to mimic photographic depth of field effects, were used in the 19th century, but motion blur came later.
Often an excuse for a classical nude, at least two paintings show her clothed, and many reveal her love affairs.
Some of the greatest figurative artists including Botticelli, Titian, Poussin, Boucher, Ingres, Moreau, and Joseph Stella.
Three stories in a single telling, about Helios/Sol, the personification of the Sun. His role in the adultery of Venus and Mars, and his two lovers and their bitter rivalry.
The Eclectic Light Company 