The title of a famous painting by Italian Renaissance master Sandro Botticelli is La Primavera. It depicts a variety of Greek mythological figures. Many of these figures could have been modeled after Botticelli’s contemporaries or patrons, as was the custom at the time. Art historians and critics have been debating the painting’s exact meaning since its creation in 1482. La Primavera is regarded as one of Renaissance art’s greatest works.
Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi was Botticelli’s real name. He was born and raised in Florence, Italy, the birthplace of the Renaissance, a cultural and artistic revolution. Masacchio’s Trinity Fresco was one of Florence’s masterpieces, as it was the first painting to use perspective, which creates the illusion of depth on a flat surface. Botticelli began his career as a goldsmith before deciding to pursue painting. By the 1470s, he had made a name for himself as a portrait and religious scene painter.
The circumstances surrounding the painting of La Primavera are largely unknown. It was built for the Medici family, who were wealthy patrons of Florentine sculptors and painters. The Greek gods Mercury and Venus in the painting are thought to be Guiliano de Medici and his mistress Simonetta Vespucci. The Italian word for “springtime” is “primavera.” This has led some scholars to believe the painting was commissioned as a wedding or christening gift.
La Primavera stands over six feet two meters tall and ten feet three meters wide, implying that the nine figures depicted are roughly life-size. Mercury, the Three Graces, Venus, Cupid, Flora, Chloris, and Zephyrus are thought to be arrayed in an orange grove. The painting appears to be inspired by a classic verse by the Roman poet Lucretius, which Botticelli and his audience would have known. Chloris, a nymph, was abducted by Zephyrus, the wind god, and transformed into Flora, the goddess of Spring, according to the poem. Because no records exist to describe Botticelli’s or his patrons’ intentions, this interpretation of the painting is mostly conjecture.
For years, the highly detailed painting hung in an anteroom of the art-rich Medicis’ mansions. Botticelli painted many masterpieces in the 1480s, including the famous Birth of Venus, which depicts the naked goddess standing on a giant clamshell. Botticelli’s style fell out of favor soon after his death in 1510, and many of his works were forgotten or ignored until the 19th century outside of his native Italy. A resurgence of interest in Renaissance art at the time led to a new appreciation of La Primavera. It has been on display in Florence’s Uffizi Gallery since 1919.