By Kay Sluterbeck<\/strong><\/p>\nIn the Middle Ages, there were no mandatory birth certificates, and many records have crumbled to dust.\u00a0 However, it is believed that in 1445, in a working-class district of Florence, a boy was born to the family of the tanner Mariano di Vanni Filipepi.\u00a0 The boy\u2019s birth date was calculated from a note in the Florence Registry filed by the youngster\u2019s father, who complains that his 13-year-old son, Sandro, is \u201cunhealthy\u201d and \u201creading.\u201d<\/p>\n
We can see from this that the boy, who became the great painter Sandro Botticelli (1445-1510), had already formed his personality at this young age.\u00a0 He was rather frail, possibly melancholy, and loved independent intellectual pursuits — a passion obviously not shared by his father.<\/p>\n
\u201cBotticelli\u201d means \u201clittle barrel\u201d.\u00a0 Sandro\u2019s husky, barrel-shaped brother was given this playful nickname by co-workers.\u00a0 Although Sandro was slender and not at all barrel-shaped, the nickname fell to him as well — and he became known as Sandro Botticelli.\u00a0 It was unusual for him to sign a painting, but when he did, he used this name.<\/p>\n
\u201cPrimavera,\u201d also known as \u201cAllegory of Spring\u201d is a tempera painting on panel completed by Botticelli around 1482.\u00a0 Although its history is not completely known, it may have been commissioned by one of the Medici family.\u00a0 It has been called one of the best-known paintings in Western art.<\/p>\n
There are many interpretations of the painting\u2019s meaning.\u00a0 The scene is a beautiful garden with fruit hanging overhead.\u00a0 Gathered there are six female figures, one male, and a blindfolded putto (a little naked boy with wings, often seen in Renaissance art).\u00a0 According to Botticelli himself, the woman in the flowered dress on the right side of the picture is Primavera (the personification of Spring).\u00a0 Her companion is Flora, who is being seized by Zephyrus, the sharp wind of March.\u00a0 Flowers spring from Flora\u2019s mouth at the touch of the wind god.<\/p>\n
In the center of the picture, Venus, the goddess of love, presides over the garden, accompanied by the Three Graces at the left side of the picture.\u00a0 The Graces bear jewels in the colors of the Medici family, and they are targeted by the putto, who represents Cupid.<\/p>\n
At the far left side of the painting is Mercury, who holds up his caduceus (the symbolic herald\u2019s staff, usually shown with intertwined snakes and wings at the top — you may have seen it as the symbol of physicians).\u00a0 The caduceus is keeping the garden safe from threatening storm clouds.<\/p>\n
The names of the models are not known, but It has been speculated that the model for Venus was Simonetta Vespucci, possible mistress of Giuliano de Medici, who is said to have been the model for Mercury.<\/p>\n
Another interpretation of the painting says that it may be an illustration of spiritual Neoplatonic love, represented by the Three Graces, as opposed to the earthy carnal love represented by Zephyrus.\u00a0 Notice that the central Grace has turned her back to the lustful Zephyrus and Flora, and she seems unconcerned by the threat of Cupid\u2019s arrows.\u00a0 Instead, she gazes at Mercury, who is himself gazing beyond the canvas.\u00a0 Some experts think he was gazing at another painting.\u00a0 There may have once been a companion piece, \u201cPrimavera:\u00a0 Pallas and the Centaur,\u201d in which love oriented toward knowledge triumphs over lust.<\/p>\n
The painting may have been inspired by a poem, \u201cDe rerum natura,\u201d by Lucretius.\u00a0 The poem includes the lines, \u201cSpring-time and Venus come, and Venus\u2019s boy, \/ The winged harbinger, steps on before, \/ And hard on Zephyr\u2019s foot-prints Mother Flora, \/ Sprinkling the ways before them, filleth all \/ With colors and with odors excellent.\u201d<\/p>\n
Whatever its inspiration, the painting has captured the imagination of the world.\u00a0 It now hangs in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.\u00a0 It was restored in 1982, although it has darkened considerably over the centuries.\u00a0 It must have once been as bright and shining as springtime itself, and it still has the power to stir many viewers to a feeling of joyful anticipation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Quilts, rugs focus of current exhibit By Seth Baker \u201cThe Art of Fiber,\u201d on display through February 25 at the Wassenberg Art Center, Van Wert, features quilts, hooked rugs, and needle punched rugs, as well as some felted items. Exhibit hours are 1-5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday (closed Mondays) and admission is free.\u00a0 The show […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1920","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-wassenberg"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-26 05:49:09","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1920","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1920"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1920\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1920"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1920"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1920"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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