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Florentine artistSandro Botticelliis credited for his contributions to theItalian Renaissance.
Sandro Botticelli, “Primavera,” c. 1477–1482 (Photo:Google Arts & CultureviaWikimedia Commons, Public domain) This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase, My Modern Met may earn an affiliate commission. Please readour disclosurefor more info.
This piece is one of the most important Early Renaissance works.
Who Was Sandro Botticelli?
CommissioningPrimavera
Botticelli paintedPrimaveraaround 1480.
Self-portrait of Sandro Botticelli from his painting “Adoration of the Magi,” c. 1476 (Photo:UffiziviaWikimedia Commons, Public domain)
During this time, art was typically commissioned for Catholic churches and civic buildings.
Above her isCupid, her son, who aims his bow and arrow toward theThree Graces.
Known as the messenger of the gods, he is shown wearing his signature helmet and winged sandals.
Giusto Utens, “Lunette of Villa di Castello as it appeared in 1599” (Photo viaWikimedia Commons, Public domain)
Detail of Flora, Zephyr, and Chloris
Fittingly, this springtime scene is set in a mythical forest.
Botticelli incorporated roughly 500 identifiable plant species in the scene, including nearly 200 types of flowers.
Botticelli paintedThe Birth of Venusin 1486, a few years afterPrimaveras believed conception.
Detail of Venus and Cupid
The biggest similarity between the two pieces, however, is their subject matter.
Both pieces feature Venus as the central subject.
InPrimavera, this figure is rendered in a relativelyGothicstyle; her posture is static, and she is clothed.
Detail of the Three Graces
InThe Birth of Venus,however, she has adopted a movehumanistposition.
She is also nudean artistic characteristic Botticelli borrowed from classical painting and sculpture.
Botticelli also portrayed Zephyr and Chloris in both pieces.
Detail of Mercury
Flora, the goddess of spring, is depicted in both paintings as well.
She is identifiable by her gown, which features a floral print and a wreath-like collar.
Detail of Flora, Zephyr, and Chloris
Detail of the flowers
Sandro Botticelli, “The Birth of Venus,” c. 1486 (Photo:Wikimedia Commons, Public domain)
Visitors in the Botticelli Room of the Uffizi Gallery (Photo:Stock Photosfrom vvoe/Shutterstock)
