Masterpiece Stories

7 Things You Didn’t Know About Primavera by Botticelli

Zuzanna Stańska 21 March 2017 min Read

Primavera by Sandro Botticelli is one of the most famous paintings of the Renaissance. Its fame rests not just on its visual appeal but on the tangled story behind it and its unfathomable symbolism. Here are 7 things you may not know about this great masterpiece:

Sandro Botticelli, Primavera, c. 1482, Uffizi Gallery, Florence
Sandro Botticelli, Primavera, c. 1482, Uffizi Gallery, Florence

1. It was commissioned by a banker

Primavera, which also is known as “The Allegory of Spring” was painted for the powerful banking family – to be accurate, for Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de’ Medici, a cousin of a famous Lorenzo the Magnificent. The Medici was a very important Florentine banking family and later royal house of Tuscany.

2. Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco may be painted on the scene

Mercury
Mercury

It is frequently suggested that Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco is the model for Mercury in the portrait, and his bride Semirande represented as Flora.

3. Primavera may be the same girl who was the model for Venus

Sandro Botticelli, Portrait of a Young Woman, 1480–1485, Städelsches Kunstinstitut und Städtische Galerie, Frankfurt am Main
Sandro Botticelli, Portrait of a Young Woman, 1480–1485, Städelsches Kunstinstitut und Städtische Galerie, Frankfurt am Main

It has also been proposed that the model for Venus was Simonetta Vespucci, the most beautiful woman who lived then in Florence, wife of Marco Vespucci and perhaps the mistress of Giuliano de’ Medici (who is also sometimes said to have been the model for Mercury).

4. It’s meaning it’s still unclear

Venus standing in her arch.
Venus standing in her arch.

There is one conception that seems to be quite sensible. According to it the painting as the realm of Venus, sung by the ancient poets and by Poliziano (famous scholar at the court of the Medici). On the right Zephyrus (the blue faced young man) chases Flora and fecundates her with a breath. Flora turns into Spring, the elegant woman scattering her flowers over the world. Venus, in the middle, represents the “Humanitas” (the benevolence), which protects men. On the left the three Graces dance and Mercury dissipates the clouds.

5. It has no official title

Yes, you’ve read me well. It was first called La Primavera by the art historian Giorgio Vasari who saw it at Villa Castello, just outside Florence, in 1550.

6. It’s extremely detailed

Flora, the goddess of flowers and the season of spring.
Flora, the goddess of flowers and the season of spring.

Especially the meadow is very naturalistically depicted. There are hundreds of types of flowers there.

7. It looks similar to the Flemish tapestries

All the details, symmetry, colors and motifs makes Primavera similar to Flemish tapestries that were popular at the time. It wouldn’t be weird, as the Medici’s where very powerful family and they had some connections with the Netherlands.

 

 

 

Get your daily dose of art

Click and follow us on Google News to stay updated all the time

Recommended

Marie-Denise Villers, Self-Portrait, 1802, Musée du Louvre, Paris, France. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Self-Portrait by Marie-Denise Villers

Self-Portrait by Marie-Denise Villers showcases the genius of a leading female artist of Napoleonic...

James W Singer 10 March 2024

Gerrit Dou, Dog at Rest, 1650, oil on oak panel, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA, USA. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Dog at Rest by Gerrit Dou

Gerrit Dou’s Dog at Rest is a masterpiece of Dutch genre painting, perfect for both dog enthusiasts and art...

James W Singer 25 February 2024

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird by Frida Kahlo

The story of Frida Kahlo is narrated through her artworks. She left an indelible mark on the art world with her emotionally charged and...

Celia Leiva Otto 29 February 2024

Ramesses II, New Kingdom, 19th Dynasty, 1279–1254 BCE, granodiorite, Temple of Amun, Karnak Temple Complex, Thebes (Luxor), Egypt, Museo Egizio, Turin, Italy. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Ramesses II

The statue of Ramesses II is a masterpiece of ancient Egyptian sculpture that proclaims the royal majesty and prowess of Ramesses the...

James W Singer 11 February 2024