Beyonce the work of art: Queen Bey's pregnancy photo series echoes famous paintings featuring Venus and the Virgin Mary

  • Beyonce shared a series of photos Thursday following her twin pregnancy news
  • The pictures show her naked or in lingerie showcasing her new baby bump
  • Mirror classic works of art such as Sandro Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus
  • One photo with Blue Ivy calls to mind Guido Reni’s Reclining Venus With Cupid
  • Her main Instagram snap was also compared to various Virgin Mary paintings

By Clemence Michallon For Dailymail.com

Published: 21:31 EST, 2 February 2017 | Updated: 22:10 EST, 2 February 2017

Beyonce's elaborate pregnancy photos have caused a flurry of excitement on the internet - but they might also contain a hidden art history lesson.

Queen Bey shared the pictures Thursday on her website, the day after announcing she and husband Jay-Z were expecting twins. The snaps, published on her website under the title 'I have three hearts', show her naked or in lingerie, cradling her new baby bump.

Some of the photos call to mind classic works of art, such as 15th-century Sandro Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus.

One of the pictures, which depicts Beyonce on a lounge chair next to her five-year-old daughter Blue Ivy, is a striking replica of Guido Reni’s Reclining Venus With Cupid, which dates back to the 17th century.

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One of Beyonce's pregnancy pictures shows her on a lounge chair next to her daughter Blue Ivy
The photo is a striking replica of Guido Reni’s Reclining Venus With Cupid (right), which dates back to the 17th century
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One of Beyonce's pregnancy pictures, featuring her daughter Blue Ivy,��is a striking replica of Guido Reni���s Reclining Venus With Cupid, which dates back to the 17th century

Both images show a woman - in one case, Beyonce (pictured next to five-year-old Blue Ivy), in the other, Venus, propped her on her right arm with a young child nearby

In Beyonce's photo, the child is Blue Ivy, whereas in Reni's painting (pictured), the child is Cupid - who in classical mythology is often portrayed as Venus' son

Both images show a woman - in one case, Beyonce, in the other, Venus, propped her on her right arm with a young child nearby.

In Beyonce's photo, the child is Blue Ivy, whereas in Reni's painting, the child is Cupid - who in classical mythology is often portrayed as Venus' son.

Beyonce can be seen handing a flower to Blue Ivy - or receiving it from her - just live Venus is reaching towards an arrow also grasped by Cupid.

Another snap showcases a topless Beyonce with her hand on her left breast and long hair that falls below her belly button.

Another snap showcases a topless Beyonce with her hand on her left breast and long hair that falls below her belly button
The snap calls to mind 15th-century Sandro Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus
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Another snap showcases a topless Beyonce with her hand on her left breast and long hair that falls below her belly button. It calls to mind��15th-century Sandro Botticelli���s The Birth of Venus

Beyonce can be seen next to a bust of Egyptian queen Nefertiti, looking at the camera while standing among a bunch of plants - with flowers snaking up her leg

The Birth of Venus shows the love goddess on a half shell, hiding her right breast with her left hand and her crotch with her long hair

The photo is eerily reminiscent of Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus, which shows the love goddess on a half shell, hiding her right breast with her left hand and her crotch with her long hair.

Beyonce's initial birth announcement photo, which has now dethroned Selena Gomez's Coke ad as the most liked picture on Instagram, also calls to mind a classic painting.

The snap mirrors Jan Brueghel the Elder’s Madonna in Floral Wreath. Brueghel's painting depicts the Virgin Mary wrapped in a blue mantle, with her child Jesus between her arms. 

A crown of flowers surrounds the mother and child.

Beyonce's initial birth announcement photo, which has now dethroned Selena Gomez's Coke ad as the most liked picture on Instagram, also calls to mind classic paintings

The Instagram snap mirrors Jan Brueghel the Elder’s Madonna in Floral Wreath, which depicts the Virgin Mary wrapped in a blue mantle, with her child Jesus between her arms. Beyonce's Instagram photo shows her surrounded by flowers with a blue background, in a composition that mirrors the Flemish painter's work

Some have said the background of the original Instagram snap reminded them of Dutch flower still-life painting, such as this none by late 17th-mid 18th centuries artist Rachel Ruysch

Another kind of self-portrait? Some have drawn comparisons between Beyonce's Instagram picture and the works of Mexican painter Frida Kahlo, such as this one that shows her at the center of a frame with plants in the background - just like Beyonce's snap

Religious comparisons have also been made between Beyonce's Instagram picture and representations of the Virgin Mary, such as Our Lady Of Guadalupe of Mexico. Here too, the Virgin Mary is pictured in a flowy mantel, reminiscent of Beyonce's veil

Some have pointed out that Beyonce's Instagram image could also have been inspired by other Renaissance Madonnas, such as this one by Italian artist Lorenzo Di Credi. The composition between Beyonce's photo and the Madonna painting have similarities, with both women at the center of the frame. The Virgin Mary is cradling her child like Beyonce is cradling her bump

Which one is it? Others have said Beyonce's Instagram photo called to mind a painting titled Hope II by Austrian symbolist painter Gustav Klimt, which dates back to the early 20th century. It also appears to show a pregnant woman, this time with her breasts bare

Beyonce's Instagram photo shows her surrounded by flowers with a blue background, in a composition that mirrors the Flemish painter's work.

The star is wearing blue panties - a color traditionally associated with the Virgin Mary - and a flowy veil whose folds call to mind those of the Virgin Mary's mantle in the painting.

Other works of art have been compared to Beyonce's Instagram announcement post.

The snap calls to mind representations of Our Lady Of Guadalupe of Mexico, other Renaissance Madonnas, Dutch flower still-life paintings, and works by Frida Kahlo and Gustav Klimt, The Atlantic's Spencer Kornhaber noted.

Beyonce, in addition to her posed pregnancy photos, shared an assortment of family snaps in her 'I have three hearts' album. Some of them date back to when she was pregnant with her firstborn Blue Ivy. One is from Jay-Z's 40th birthday.

The mother-to-be also shared a series of quotes, including: 'Venus falls in love, flowers grow wherever love touches her, this is how she is reborn.' 

Beyonce's pregnancy album contained a series of other shots, including family pictures and this photo for which she posed on top of a car filled with flowers

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