Botticelli was one of the major artists in Florence during the Renaissance, born in 1445, Florence, Italy.
La Primavera, also known as Allegory of Spring was painted around 1482. It is a tempera on wood panel measuring 203 x 314 cm.
The history of the painting is not certainly known, though it seems to have been commissioned by Lorenzo de' Medici . It contains elements of Ovid and Lucretius work, they were both Roman poets. May have been inspired by a poem by Poliziano. Since 1919 the painting has been part of the collection of the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.
Different interpretations have been attributed to this painting, this is how art historian Susan Legouix describes the painting on her book Botticelli (first published in 1979):
"As in two of the Sistine frescoes the theme (it can hardly be called narrative) reads from right to left. The impetus is given by Zephyr who blows from the right. On the left, Mercury, associated with the month of May, turns as if to indicate the passage of spring towards summer. Zephyr’s breath causes flowers to spring from the mouth of the earth nymph Chloris, who then assumes the richly-clad form of Flora as the next figure in the group. Venus, the personification of April, stands in the centre of the picture gesturing towards her attendant Graces."
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| Death does not care what season it is ... |
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| Mercury may have been modeled after Giuliano de' Medici |
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| All female figures seem to be pregnant |
Link to the Uffizi Gallery - Google Art Project
1 comment:
https://sites.google.com/site/botticellisuseofneoplatonism/home has loads more information on Botticelli and his art
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