The middle finger
Rubens succeeds in conveying the delicacy with which Venus presses the middle finger of her hand against her breast with just a few small brushstrokes. They go almost unnoticed when viewed with the naked eye, but macro photography reveals the subtle touches of white he uses to mark the form of the flesh where the finger sinks into it.
Rubens delineates certain contours of the flesh in a very subtle way using a reddish line. These outlines form an essential part of the composition, creating a very distinctive pictorial effect of depth.
