The Birth of Venus is perhaps the magnum opus of Renaissance painter Sandro Botticelli. It was one of a series which Botticelli produced, taking as inspiration written descriptions by Pliny the Elder and others of the masterpieces of Ancient Greece which had long since disappeared. The ancient painting by Apelles was called Venus Anadyomene, "Anadyomene" meaning "rising from the sea"; this title was also used for Botticelli's painting, The Birth of Venus only becoming its better-known title in the 19th century. The central figure of Venus in the painting is very similar to Praxiteles' sculpture of Aphrodite.