Analysis Of The Poem The Primavera - 949 Words

The Primavera (alternatively known as the Allegory of Spring), painted by Botticelli c. 1842. Since its first discussion by Giorgio Vasari in 1550 , the contextual and allegorical details of the Primavera’s iconography have been of great interest. This essay will argue that despite this intense division amongst scholars, there is an overarching theme of transformation and the amalgamation of old and new interpretations of various literary and philosophical texts. The painting in itself is a renaissance and can be read as a series of events within a single frame. In order to demonstrate the multi faceted and intrinsically complex nature of the painting, this essay will discuss three different, and yet interrelated interpretations of the Primavera. These will include the painting as the development of spring and the fertility it brings, the concept of ideal marriage and finally, the transcendental nature of Neoplatonic ideas in regards to humanity and this new form of love. Reading the painting as the culmination of spring, it is important to recognize that Zephyrus and Mercury are complimentary figures. At the beginning of spring, the West Wind (Zephyrus) began the natural cycle and it was Mercury who dispelled it at the end of the season. Applying the lines from Ovid’s Fasti to these next two figures (Chloris and Flora), The Primavera is viewed as the maturation of spring. This is obvious through Botticelli’s depiction of Chloris, almost running into the goddess, and