Botticelli
Botticelli’s masterpiece, Primavera,
depicts a scene of slow moving grace in
what appears to be a mythical garden.
The actual subject of this masterpiece is
unknown, but there are volumes of
ideas concerning the purposes and meanings the
painting could have. Despite
the confusion the painting is widely admired and
revered as Botticelli’s
finest works. The scene appears to be a spring
morning, with a pale light
penetrating the straight vertical trees in the
background. The trees appear
to bear golden apples, a possible reference to the
myth of Venus and the
golden apple which seems feasible considering Venus
appears in the center of
the painting underneath the great canopy provided by
the trees. Golden apples
are also the attribute of the Three Graces, the
handmaidens of Venus, also
shown in this work. Chloris, the ancient Greek
goddess of flowers, is fleeing
from Zephyr, the west wind of springtime whom
begets flowers, on the right
side of the painting. When Zephyr catches her in
his embrace flowers spill
from her lips and she transforms into Flora the Roman
goddess of flowers.
Flora is depicted separately from Chloris and is dressed in
blossoms as she
scatters flowers over the ground. In the center is a dignified
Venus with
a promise of joy. Above Venus is the infant Cupid, blindfolded and
aiming his
arrows of love. To the left the Three Graces dance in silent daydream
of
grace. They are separated from the other figures in time as indicated
by
their hair blowing in the opposite direction from Zephyr’s gusts. The
figure
on the extreme left is that of Mercury, messenger of the gods. He
provides a
male counterpart to Zephyr. Zephyr is breathing love and warmth
into McGaharan 2
a wintry world while Mercury is diverting this expression to
a more culturally
acceptable form, considering the context of the time
period, by opening the
scene to the gods. The scene has a dream like quality.
The subject seems to be
ambivalent, the gentle yet strong colors give the
figures presence and weight,
but the figures also seem insubstantial or
dreamlike. The light figures of the
painting heavily contrast with the dark
background of the woods. The ground does
not seem to be present but flowers
are scattered on top of it adding to the
dreamlike state of the work. The
picture is harmonized by the equal distribution
of figures over the picture
plane. There is a slow moving rhythm to the way the
figures move added to by
the various gestures of their arms, graceful and
elegant. It is interesting
to note that the hand of the fleeing Chloris as it
overlaps, and appears to
blend into, the arm of Flora. Botticelli lived from
1445 to 1510 in
Florence. Despite his individuality as a Renaissance painter, he
remained
little known for centuries after his death until his work was
rediscovered
late in the 19th century. Botticelli was a pupil of the painter
Fra
Filippo Lippi. He was commissioned to do this work after enjoying
success over
his work Venus and Mars, an allegory of War and Love, for the
Medici families.
Lorenzo di Piefrancesco de’Medici enjoyed Mars and Venus
so much he
commissioned Botticelli for two works, Primavera and The Birth of
Venus. These
works are considered his best works. I chose this piece because
I reviewed Mars
and Venus and found the elegance of Botticelli style
captivating. The mystery of
this particular painting interested me. The fact
that scholars cannot understand
the exact subject of the work adds an element
of mystery to the work.