Sandro Botticelli’s
La Primavera
c. 1482 Medici Villa in Castello
La Primavera, meaning The Spring Time in Italian, was commissioned by the great Medici family of Italy. It portrays a mythological scene of many Greek gods. While a century before its creation the mythological scenery may have been unpopular, the Renaissance brought about an interest in old Greek beliefs and the Reformation opened minds to concepts outside of religion.
The painting represents love and/or fertility. The Medici’s had an orange grove and the many oranges present in the painting imply good omens of many offspring. The gods represented are as follows: Mercury, messenger of the gods; Cupid, god of lust and destroyer of marriages; Venus, goddess of love and beauty; Flora, goddess of flowers; Chloris, Flora’s previous identity; and Zephyr, the wind god. The three characters on the left are the Three Graces, representative of the female virtues chastity, beauty and love.
Springtime is symbolic of new life and new beginnings. The characters brought together in this painting all follow this theme. Mercury is clearing the skies to make way for the transition into spring. The Three Graces appear to be under attack from Cupid, symbolic of the trials a woman must face before marriage. Venus is present in the center of the piece to create a main focus on love and marriage. On the right is an image of the “rebirth” of Flora as a new woman, a married woman, to Zephyr. Although he raped her, he married her as apology and her content appearance afterward is a representation of how marriage improves a woman’s life even though she rarely had any say in who she would marry.
I enjoy this piece because it is not simply another picture of biblical figures. Every character has a symbolic meaning which intrigues me and makes me want to find out what each one means. The background is dark but the characters are bright which I find attractive.
http://www.historylink101.com/art/Sandro_Botticelli/pages/09_Primavera_jpg.htm
I think this is a brilliant painting. It is interesting to see that the Greek gods and goddesses potrayed rather than biblical characters.
This painting is easily identified as a Botticelli, as it reminds me of the Birth of Venus, from which La Primavera is an extension from.
There are many different stories of how the other characters are portrayed.One being: “Mercury extends his caduceus to stop the wind which had been blowing earlier with Zephyr and his brother and, at the same time, stops winter from becoming spring. The striking group of the three Graces, perhaps the most beautiful ever painted, is the affirmation of Primavera, that is, Spring, which Venus is still facing. Then time passes, and we see the affirmation of summer, represented here by Flora, whose robe is now made of flowers and who is tossing flowers, the product of her generosity, on the ground. And autumn by Chloe, who is nearly timidly turned toward a blue and somewhat terrifying character who is trying to catch her. This character is Zephyr who, at one time, forgot to blow, because he was chasing the nymph, Chloe through the woods” (World Art Treasures).
It is interesting the many stories that can be depicted by art.
I have to agree that I am a huge fan of Boticelli because of the use of Greek mythology. The stories that come with the interaction of gods who represent different aspects of the world can be very interesting. As I was reading through your post, I couldn’t help but ask myself why the life of a woman from being single to married would be of such great interest during the Renaissance. The Medici’s were always for supporting the arts and the celebrated ideas of Greek Mythology. The Renaissance focused on humanism, which celebrated the achievements of the individidual, but why focus on the woman being happy with her dependency on a man? Maybe the ideas of a woman’s individuality are too soon for the Renaissance.
I find myself liking this painting also because of the symbolism that follows with every story of the Greeks and their gods. However, I also enjoy the religious artwork because there can be an extreme sense of symbolism involved as well. Bosch’s “Garden of Earthly Delights” and Campin’s “Merode Alterpiece” are only a few of many masterpieces that use symbology to tell a story.
All in all, your explanation of the painting was well done. I can always appreciate another interpretation of artwork.
I don’t think that it is so much the woman’s marriage that is significant rather the continuation of a family line. Having many offspring meant wealth and prosperity, especially in the case of the Medici’s for which this painting was made, and before you can have children you must be married.