ART 2014

Italians – philosophers throughout. Even in the picture, which is an allegory of spring and love, encrypted message of humanity

Sandro Botticelli
Spring, 1482 Primavera
The Uffizi Gallery, Florence

Painting by Sandro Botticelli “Spring” was a wedding gift to Lorenzo de ‘Medici his second cousin Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de’ Medici. He was going to marry Semiramis – a girl from a noble family Appiani. “Spring” was supposed to hang over the sofa-encrusted larem – lettuchcho. The picture is not really just about spring and love is a kind of illustration of the Manual, compiled by Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco to the famous Florentine philosopher Marsilio Ficino. In it, he called crooked young man looking intently at the Humanitas («humanity”, “humanity”) as the highest virtue.

The epitome of humanity Ficino considers the goddess Venus. “You have to rivet his attention to Venus – writes Ficino, – that is to say humanity. It serves to remind us that we can not have anything great in the earth, not having the people themselves, by whose mercy all earthly things come. People it is impossible to catch bait for other than humanity. Therefore, be careful and do not despise it. “Painting an extended period of time hung in the mansion of the Medici in Florence. In 1815 she went to the Uffizi Gallery. For a long time it is not exposed, and only since 1919, when it drew the attention of art Giovanni Tucci, it becomes a pearl of the main exhibition.

1. Venus. Goddess of love stands in the middle of orange groves (orange – a symbol of chastity), in the arch of myrtle and laurel, holding his right hand in a gesture of blessing. Her veil married woman (an allusion to the wedding theme). “It is – writes Ficino – there nymph prigozhesti greatest born of heaven and God more than any other beloved by God. Her soul and mind are Love and Mercy, her eyes – Dignity and Magnanimity, hands – Generosity and Magnificence, legs – Prigozhest and modesty. There is a whole Temperance and Honesty, pleasure and greatness. Brave beauty! How beautiful to behold. My dear Lorenzo, nymph so noble completely given into your hands (again played up the theme of the wedding. – Comm. Aut.).

If you combine it with marriage and called her his, it will make your sweet years, and you yourself – excellent father children. ”
2. Three Graces. This companion of Venus. Ficino describes their feelings, intellect and will. “And because – he writes – it [feeling] is not the thinking act is one of the Graces painted with face turned to us, as it were, to move forward and not going to go back; the other two, as they relate to the intellect and the will, which is characteristic of the function of thinking, depicted with face turned back, as the one who comes back. ”
3. Mercury. Messenger of the gods depicted in winged sandals. He was the son of the nymph Maia, after which in Latin is called the month of May, in which the wedding of Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco. With the help of the caduceus (rod, braided snakes) He scatters the clouds to nothing clouded spring mood Garden of Venus. It is believed that the image of Mercury Botticelli painted Lorenzo de ‘Medici, the customer’s picture.
4. Zephyr and the nymph Chloris. This illustrates the passage from Ovid’s poem “fast” – west wind Zephyrus chasing chloride and seizes it: “Once spring eye I caught Zephyr; I went, / He flew me: he was too strong for me … / Yet violence Zephyr justified, making me his wife, / And your marriage I never grumble. “After marriage chloride (out of her mouth curled periwinkle – the symbol of true love) became a goddess of spring and flowers that Botticelli depicts immediately, thereby using the technique of simultaneity – simultaneous images of consecutive events.
5. Spring. It includes the following lines from “Fast”, “Spring – this is the best time / in green all the trees, all the land is green. / Garden prolific flowers in the fields, my dowry data … / Garden graced my husband a beautiful flower hat, / So I said: “Forever whether you’re the goddess of flowers!” / But count all the colors of the flowers scattered everywhere, / I never could not: no number of their number. “The painting by Botticelli Spring scatters rose, as was the custom for the rich Florentine weddings. Her dress embroidered with red and blue cornflowers – symbols of friendliness and good nature. You can also see in a wreath around his neck Spring strawberries – a symbol of tenderness, chamomile – a symbol of loyalty and buttercup – a symbol of wealth.
6. Cupid. Companion of the goddess of love. He blindfolded (love is blind) Celite Firebolt in one of the Graces. Possibly in the form of Cupid Botticelli painted himself.