Time distribution, popularity, diversity and productivity of the iconography of Venus in the Low Countries, France and Italy

The paper analyses quantitatively three large data sets of artworks (7473 in total) and their artists (2374 in total) of the Low Countries, of France and of Italy from the 16th century to the present time. The time series analysis shows a clear shift of the peak production from the 16th century in Italy to the 17th century in the Low Countries and the 18th century in France. Topics ‘Venus and Cupid’ and ‘Venus and Adonis’ are among the most popular ones in Italy and France during different periods, but ‘Venus and Adonis’ is definitely the most popular topic in the Low Countries from 1600 to 1799. A ranking of the ten most productive artists in each region reveals that the artists of the Low Countries were more productive than their colleagues in France, and those in France more than the artists in Italy. The productivity of artists follows exactly the formula of Lotka, known as the law of scientific productivity: 60%%%% of all artists in the samples create only one Venus-artwork.