Botticelli, La Primavera, 1477-82 Flashcards
Who painted La Primavera and when?
La Primavera was painted by Sandro Botticelli between 1477 and 1482. It is considered one of the most famous paintings of the Early Renaissance.
What is the medium of La Primavera?
La Primavera is painted in tempera on panel.
Where is La Primavera located?
La Primavera is located in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy.
What is the subject matter of La Primavera?
The painting features figures from classical mythology in a garden setting. The characters include Zephyr, Chloris, Flora, Venus, Mercury, and the Three Graces, which draw from various mythological and literary sources, particularly Ovid’s Fasti and Lucretius’s De Rerum Natura.
Who are the main figures in La Primavera and what do they represent?
Zephyr: The god of wind, depicted chasing Chloris, a nymph whom he transforms into Flora, the goddess of flowers.
Venus: The central figure representing beauty and fertility, associated with love and marriage.
The Three Graces: Symbolize Chastity, Beauty, and Love, ideal qualities for a wife in Renaissance society.
Mercury: The god of communication and transition, clearing the clouds to indicate new beginnings and the arrival of spring.
what is the interaction between the figures like
*The interactions between the figures are enigmatic.
Zephyr and Chloris are looking at each other.
Flora and Venus look out at the viewer,
the Cupid is blindfolded,
and Mercury has turned his back on the others, and looks up at the clouds.
The central Grace looks towards him, while the other two seem to look at each other. Flora’s smile was very unusual in painting at this date.
What is the symbolic significance of Venus in La Primavera?
Venus symbolizes love, beauty, and fertility, and is often considered the protector of marriage and sexual desire
In La Primavera, she represents the fertility and harmonious balance that come with the arrival of spring, while her central position in the composition emphasizes her importance.
What is the significance of the Three Graces in La Primavera?
The Three Graces represent Chastity, Beauty, and Love, which were ideal attributes of a woman in the context of Renaissance marriage.
They are depicted as engaging in a graceful dance, which reinforces the themes of unity and harmony in relationships.
How does the painting’s setting contribute to its meaning?
The setting is a garden that symbolizes fertility and the coming of spring. It is filled with myrtle and orange trees, both associated with Venus and fertility.
The garden setting creates a connection between nature’s cycles and human fertility, reinforcing the painting’s themes of marriage, love, and the renewal of life.
What do the flowers in La Primavera symbolize?
The flowers in the painting are symbols of fertility, beauty, and the cyclical nature of life. Many of the flowers are likely intended to symbolize sexuality and marriage, while some also refer to the Medici family, as the orange trees were an emblem of their house.
they stand out against the dark background
What role does Mercury play in La Primavera?
Mercury is shown clearing the clouds with his caduceus, symbolizing the arrival of spring. His action suggests the idea of new beginnings and the clearing away of the old to make way for renewal, which can also be seen as a metaphor for fertility and rejuvenation.
What is the meaning behind the transformation of Chloris into Flora?
The transformation of Chloris into Flora symbolizes the renewal of life and the abundance of nature that comes with spring. Chloris’s kidnapping and forced transformation by Zephyr reflect themes of fertility and the sexualization of women, while Flora, as the goddess of flowers, represents the positive aspects of this change.
Why is La Primavera often associated with a wedding or marriage?
La Primavera is thought to have been created for the wedding of Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de’ Medici and Semiramide Appiani.
The painting’s themes of love, fertility, and the Three Graces (representing ideal wifely virtues) all contribute to the connection to marriage.
What is the role of the garden in La Primavera?
The garden symbolizes a space of fertility, growth, and the cyclical nature of life. It is a place where Venus, the goddess of love and fertility, presides, and it is filled with plants and flowers that represent the nurturing of life, both human and natural. It also suggests the idealized space for marriage and sexuality.
How does the composition of La Primavera contribute to its themes?
The figures are arranged in a frieze-like style, with some figures interacting directly (such as Zephyr and Chloris), while others are more passive or distant (like Venus).
This structure reinforces the balance and harmony of the themes of fertility, love, and marriage. The flow of the composition from right to left reflects the transition from spring’s arrival to the blossoming of nature and life.
What influences shaped the creation of La Primavera?
Botticelli was influenced by classical mythology, as well as Renaissance humanism, which sought to revive ancient Greek and Roman ideas.
The painting also draws on literary sources, including Ovid’s Fasti and Poliziano’s poetry, which were popular during the Renaissance and shaped the portrayal of mythological figures.
What do the oranges in La Primavera symbolize?
The oranges in the painting are symbolic of the Medici family, as the family’s emblem was an orange. The fruit also represents fertility and prosperity, both important aspects of the marriage theme in the painting.
What techniques did Botticelli use in La Primavera?
Botticelli used tempera on panel, a technique that involves pigments mixed with egg yolk. This technique was common during the Renaissance and allowed for fine detail and vibrant color. The composition is detailed, with great attention to the textures of clothing, the delicate play of light and shadow, and the naturalistic rendering of plants and flowers.
NEOPLATONIC THEORY BEHIND LA PRIMAVERA
- Neo-platonism was a philosophical and aesthetic movement trying to blend the thought of Plato with the noblest concepts of Christianity.
- The painting has been interpreted as an illustration of the ideal of Neoplatonic love, popularised among the Medici and their followers
what was the influence of flemish tapestries
The overall appearance, and size, of the painting is similar to that of the millefleur (“thousand flower”) Flemish tapestries that were popular decorations for palaces at the time.
influence of classical antiquity
-mythology
Some of the poses and figures are derived from Greek sculpture, although – as is evident from the slightly elongated torsos and distended stomachs – they have been reworked to reflect contemporary Florentine aesthetics.
-frieze like composition. figures are spread in a rough line across the front of the picture plane
how is the composition frieze like
– figures are spread in a rough line across the front of the picture plane, frieze like
where on the grid
Mythological (2D or 3D), florence
critical quotes
how does it draw on literary sources
draws from a number of classical and Renaissance literary sources, including the works of the Ancient Roman poet Ovid (Fasti)
*The group at the right of the painting was inspired by a description by the Roman poet Ovid of the arrival of Spring (Fasti Book 5). (Aby Warburg brought this link to light)
less certainly, Lucretius (De Rerum Nature), and may also allude to a poem by Poliziano, the Medici house poet who may have helped Botticelli devise the composition.
how is venus presented in comparison to the other figures
*The feet of Venus are considerably higher than those of the others, showing she is spatially behind them. Despite this, she is the same scale, if not slightly larger.
how can we see different angles of the human body
*The three graces (popular in Rome statuary) traditionally allow the artist to show three different angles of the human body simultaneously
what stands out against the dark background of the primavera
-three graces pale skin
-flowers become more vibrant
how are zephyr and chloris emphasised
*Sudden movement of Zephyr and Chloris is enhanced by their diagonal emphasis and comparative stillness of the other figures.
how does venus express potential sexuality after the wedding
*Venus was not only the goddess of love and beauty but also the goddess who protects and watches over marriage. Botticelli has surrounded her with boughs of myrtle, a plant associated with sexual desire, marriage and childbirth.
She is portrayed clothed, not naked, she is not lustful but chaste and fertile. The point of this painting is to portray the idea that sexual fulfilment for women was acceptable only within the institution of wedlock and for the purposes of procreation.
how do the figures embody the groom and the bride
. Zephyr embodies the groom, Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco, while Flora is the bride, Semiramide
Lorenzo il Magnifico may be identified as Mercury, who pushes the winter clouds away, Lorenzo was responsible for creating the favourable climate for this marriage, he had negotiated the union.
how is fertility expressed through flora
, the theme of fertility is expressed not only in the abundant blossoms and ripe oranges of the picture, but also in the way that the figure of Flora is scattering red and white roses from her lap – a clear indication of the offspring she is expected to bear.
Her position in the painting also reflects this, in terms of the vertical link between herself and the trees above her. To her left, representing the time before her marriage, there is no fruit in the trees. To her right, representing the time after her union, the trees are full of fruit. It is no coincidence that the fruits are oranges, which represent the Medici palle.
how is zzephyr identified as the groom
*The tree next to Zephyr is the Laurel tree, or in Latin, Laurentius, the name of the groom of the marriage – Lorenzo. Zephyr is identified as the groom.
significance of chloris struggling from zephr in the context of the marriage
The marriage between Lorenzo and Semiramide was, after all, not a union of love, but a political union that had been very carefully planned by Lorenzo il Magnifico.
what classical source did bottocelli draw on for the flowers
Pliny’s Naturalis Historia may also have been a source for the flowers and plants that are described in minute detail by Botticelli.
Drawing on this ancient text in order to study and better understand nature demonstrates the Renaissance aspirations towards Classical learning and naturalism.
what was poetic invinto
Botticelli’s interpretation of these sources exemplifies Alberti’s concept of poetic inventio in painting, an activity of the painter Alberti defined as not analogous to but identical with poetic thinking
how is humanism shown
-references to patron and marriage
how did botocellis inclusion of literary sources exemplify the concept of poetic inventio in painting
exemplifies Alberti’s concept of poetic inventio in painting, an activity of the painter Alberti aligning art to poetic thinking
= Raising the status of the artist to that of an intellectual.
who was the patron
Painted for Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de’Medici (second cousin of Lorenzo il Magnifico), and was to be hung in his townhouse. Most likely painted to celebrate the marriage of Lorenzo and his bride Semiramide Appiani.
where was this painting displayed
. It was displayed in the bedchamber of Semiramide Appiani
Semiramide’s bedchamber was situated next to her husband’s, and the painting was fitted into the upper part of the lettuccio (large bed).
The bottom of the painting was at about eye level, or slightly above it, thus explaining the gently rising plane upon which the figures stand.
where did vasari see this painting
in his villa at Castello (not his townhouse) , where Vasari saw it half a century later
