Primavera

I chose to do my paper over the early Renaissance piece “La Primavera.” I chose this piece because of the colors and the mystery behind it. Primavera was painted during the “Re-birth” of Rome. During this time there was mainly just Christianity, so to see a picture with Paganism in it was a little strange to me, and the piece interested me greatly. After doing research I found that the mystery grew a little; many people are not very sure of the true meaning behind the painting, but there are many theories. La Primavera was painted by Sandro Boticelli, it is tempera on panel. The piece was painted in 1481-1482 (though there is dispute about that as well.) Primavera can now be found in the Galleria degli Uffizi, in Florence, Italy. The painting depicts 9 people. The one my eye was first drawn to was Venus, in the center. The other bodies in the painting part as to not obscure her image. Venus is surrounded by an arch of trees, forming what could be interpreted as either a halo of sorts or just a reference to an architectural arch during that time period. Next, my eye was drawn to the Three Graces. During this time, in Roman Statuary, many sculptors would use the Three Graces to show the body in the round, showing the body three times, with slightly different angles. Next to the Three Graces, you see Mercury, the God of War. Mercury has been shown with his weapon put away, to show that he is at peace in Venus’s garden. He’s also shown pushing away the clouds in the left hand corner. On the right hand side of the picture, Zephyrus the God of wind is shown abducting the figure of Chloris. Chloris is the goddess of flowers, so she is identical with the Roman Flora, who is shown right next to her. And then above the whole scene is Cupid, Venus’s son, unleashing his arrow among the Three Graces. Boticelli created a beautiful environment in this piece of work. The dark colors he used gives it a kind of secrecy to it, as if it’s a hidden garden that only the lucky