Identify and explain the symbolism in Botticelli’s Primavera

Question

Please provide the best answer for the statement.

Answer 1

1. In Botticelli’s Primavera (“Spring”), which might have been commissioned by Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de’ Medici, the nymph stands in the center, depicted as Venus, goddess of love, and, to the humanists in Lorenzo’s court, an allegorical figure who represented the highest moral qualities. On the far right, Zephyrus, god of the west wind, attempts to capture Chloris, the nymph of spring, but Flora, goddess of flowers, who stands beside the nymph, ignores the west wind’s threat, and distributes blossoms across the path. To the left of Venus, the three Graces, daughters of Zeus and personifications of beauty, engage in a dance that recalls one created for three people by Lorenzo in the 1460s. Finally, to the left, Mercury, messenger of the gods, holds up his staff. Over the whole scene and positioned just above the head of Venus, Cupid reigns.
2. Primavera captures the spirit of the Medici. It celebrates love, not only as a spiritual, humanist endeavor, but also in a more direct, physical way, for Lorenzo hardly shied from physical pleasure. A prolific poet himself, his most famous poem, the 1490 “Song of Bacchus,” deliberately invites the kind of behavior we associate with carnivals, lavish festivities that Lorenzo regularly sponsored. In fact, it seems likely that Botticelli’s painting decorated Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco’s wedding chamber.