Sandro Boticelli&#x27;s &quot;The Birth of Venus&quot;, 1486, Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence. Most paintings of women during the middle Ages symbolize the Virgin Mary, showing her in a demure appearance with an angelic smile and covered head. So Botticelli&#x27;s depiction of a beautiful goddess, not only an obvious symbol of pagan mythology but also painted as a nude was groundbreaking.