THE SEASON OF GROWTH & RENEWAL - "PRIMAVERA" or "AN ALLEGORY OF SPRING" BY BOTTICELLI

THE SEASON OF GROWTH & RENEWAL - "PRIMAVERA" or "AN ALLEGORY OF SPRING"
By Sandro Botticelli - c1482

After the dark days and bleak weather of a Winter in the northern hemisphere it's always a pleasure to see the first signs of spring - the season of new life and renewal. It might be the first snowdrops in a town garden, catkins on willow shrubs in a country hedgerow or lambs in a farmer's field and who would own up to not remembering growing horsechestnut "sticky buds" in vases on the primary school window sill? A pleasant memory from boyhood returns as I write this posting - a recollection of going out on a fresh March day with fishing net and jam jar to Johnny's Pond near where I lived in Skipton to find the first frog spawn of the new year, bringing it home and setting up a tank to watch it metamorphose in to tadpoles and then tiny frogs in just a matter of weeks. As a young man, whilst a Biology major at University, I also remember writing an essay entitled "The whole of nature is based on cycles - discuss" and evolutionary adaptation to changing seasonal conditions was one of the themes I became absorbed in. On yet another level I also find it fascinating to reflect on the notion that Christ's life is purported to have begun with the immaculate conception in spring and ended with the crucifixion and resurrection at the same time of year - Easter being the most important festival in the Christian church.

Not surprisingly the subject of the changing seasons and the importance of spring has been an endless source of inspiration for artists and their patrons for centuries and this was indeed the case during the Italian Renaissance, particularly in the late 15th century. My choice of painting for this particular posting, one of the best known paintings in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, explores the subject of "Spring" in a challenging way that has proved controversial to art historians in the 20th century, though it was not given the title "Primavera" until the middle of the the 16th century by GiorgioVasari - the author of "Artist's Lives".

"PRIMAVERA" by Sandro Botticelli - c1482

At just over six feet wide by three feet tall it's large and takes the form of a horizontal oblong. It's a colourful tempera (1) painting on panel presenting a complex arrangement of figures in an orange grove setting. The identification of the figures and the precise significance of their inter-relationship has been argued about and debated for decades, so what I am presenting here is the gist of what is accepted by many art historians to be the essence of the picture. So let's have a look at it in a bit more detail.

As mentioned earlier the setting is an orange grove - and traditionally orange trees have been associated with the powerful and influential Medici family. The picture was probably commissioned by Medici family member Lorenzo di Pierfranceso dei Medici, a distant cousin of Lorenzo the Magnificent and a friend of Marsilio Ficino, the founder of  Neo-Platonic philosophy popular with the Florentine intelligentsia in the late 15th century. The picture appears to have been destined for his marital bedchamber at Villa Castello just outside Florence and it was in this house that Giorgio Vasari saw it in 1550 and entitled it "La Primavera".

Another fascinating feature of the painting's composition is the foreground which shows a grassy area covered in a multitude of colourful wild flowers - a sure sign of spring. One recent study has established there are approaching 200 different plant species visible and so accurate is Botticelli's depiction of them that over 130 of them have been identified and named!

A distinctive aspect of the painting's composition is its lack of depth; there is no attempt by the artist to introduce the clever single point perspective developed by Brunelleschi. All of the figures are set close to the picture plane (imagine that as the glass in a picture frame) and this creates a feeling of flatness in the composition. This in turn gives the impression of a classical frieze where the figures are involved in an unfolding story. On another level the painting looks rather like a northern European Flemish tapestry of the period. These were highly valued by the Florentine elite at the time.

Taking that idea of a classical frieze a stage further, it's been suggested the best way to interpret the painting is to read it from right to left so we will begin there.

ZEPHYR PURSUING CHLORIS 

The darkened figure of a winged youth on the far right is thought to be Zephyrus, God of the West Wind and we can see him lustily in pursuit of a beautiful and scantily clad Chloris - a wood nymph; after raping her he will ultimately name her his wife. As Chloris attempts to escape Zephyr's advances his warm breath from puffed cheeks causes flowers and leaves to sprout from her mouth and she begins the transformation in to Flora, goddess of Spring. The next figure is the metamorphosed figure of Chloris as Flora wearing a beautiful floral patterned gown and garlands and scattering flowers on the woodland floor. As with many Renaissance paintings with a classical rather than a religous theme, the sources and inspiration for them come from literature - both classical and contemporary. Here the classical source appears to be the 5th book of Roman poet and scholar Ovid's Fasti where he describes the story of Zephyr and Chloris and her transformation in to the goddess Flora. Lucretius's poem "De rerum natura" also recounts a tale of Spring involving Venus, Cupid, Zephyr and Flora. The story was taken up by a humanist scholar, poet and tutor to the Medici family children, one Angelo Poliziano (1454-94) who wrote a poem which included the line "I was Chloris who am now called Flora" which emphasizes the before and after aspects of the story.

ZEPHYR, AND CHLORIS & THE METAMORPHOSED FLORA
- GODDESS OF SPRING

In the centre of the painting the goddess Venus presides over the orange grove carefully positioned in an arched break in the trees with myrtle shrubs behind - an attribute of the goddess. By looking in the opposite direction to the earthy, carnal encounter involving Zephyr and Chloris she appears to be favouring a purer, sweeter form of love being enacted to her right. Her companions, the three Graces, daughters of Zeus, dance as a trio in celebration of the arrival of spring. Above Venus's head is her mischievous blindfolded son, Cupid who fires off an arrow in the direction of the graces. One of them, with her back towards us, appears smitten with the handsome, scantily clad figure of a young man who has been identified as Mercury, the god of springtime whose role was to defend the garden from intruders. (Interestingly, its been suggested that Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco is the model for Mercury). The grace to her left appears to have recognized the emotion on her sister's face and Venus seems to raise a hand of approval of what has happened. It's all a contrast to the earthy scene being played out on her opposite side.

THE THREE GRACES & MERCURY

Art historians have had a field day trying to interpret the intellectual significance of the painting and contrasting points of view have emerged. In addition to its obvious meanings its been proposed that the painting, in the spirit of teaching life's lessons through allegory and myth, represents a view of Neoplatonic ideas about the human emotion of "love" which would have appealed to members of the progressive Medici. Attempting to bring together Christian values and classical philosophical ideas Venus is set in the role of overseeing all matters to do with earthly and divine love. This resonates also with the neoplatonic idea of the goddess being the classical equivalent of the Virgin Mary. Certainly there appear to be references to this in the painting's composition where the goddess is framed in an almost religous arch like setting with hand raised in what seems like a benediction or blessing.

Mythological paintings like this one were innovatory in late 15th century Florence and were an alternative to traditional religous subjects. To families like the Medici they provided intellectual, stimulion as well as an erotic charge as can be seen here. For Sandro Botticelli there was little in the way of precedent to work with - all of his work had been of a religous nature up until the time his talents came to the attention of members of the Medici family. Whatever the intellectual meanings implicit in this painting, however, I take pleasure in its detail - the way the artist deals, for example, with the effects of air movement on delicate fabrics and drapery is spectacular and I am drawn to investigate further the identified species of flowers visible in this Renaissance garden.

Since 1919 the painting has hung in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence and having darkened over a long period of time it was restored in 1982. It is of course shown in a multitude of art history text books, but I can't wait to see it again on my next visit to Florence. As I write this posting for April, Easter is just a week away and next Wednesday we fly to Pisa so I'm looking forward to experiencing an Umbrian spring for the first time. I haven't decided what to write about for the month of May yet, but hopefully I'll get some inspiration during our week away.

(1) Tempera was the popular medium for painting on gesso covered wooden panels in Florence in the late 15th century only being superceded by oil at the time of the new century. Essentially it involved mixing ground pigments with water and a binding medium which was usually egg yolk. As it was fast drying the paint had to be applied quickly and none of the subtleties possible with oil were possible but the end results were permanent, colourful and impressive and have survived well.

Sandro Botticelli (c.1445-1510)
Christened Alessandro di Mariano Filipeppi in his home city of Florence he was the son of a tanner. Botticelli is a nickname, probably given to him by his elder brother and means "small wine cask" in Italian. He was a pupil of the renowned Florentine painter Fra Filippo Lippi and enjoyed many commissions in Florence, the most important for members of the Medici family in the 1480's. In 1481/2 he travelled to Rome to undertake work on frescos in the Sistine Chapel. Following the death of Lorenzo in 1491 and the rise to prominence of Girolamo Savonarola, vicar-general of the Dominicans, Botticelli's work became once again more sober in its nature and intent. He died in 1510, unmarried, in Florence and was buried in the church of the Ognissanti.

KBO - IAN