Spring

The incarnation of beauty according to Botticelli takes shape in a surreal and dreamy dimension.

Spring. Sandro Botticelli. 1480 c. Tempera on wood. 207x319 cm. Uffizi Gallery (Florence)

Iconic Renaissance work, closely linked to the Birth of Venus by the same artist, not only for the date of its creation but also for iconographic references. A work shrouded in an aura of mystery whose deeper meaning is still unknown today.

Commissioned by the cousin of Lorenzo de 'Medici then governor of Florence, hosted first in Palazzo di Via Larga and then, according to the testimonies of Vasari, in the Villa di Castello next to his sister the Birth of Venus. Only in 1919 was it transferred to the Uffizi, destined to never abandon this site.

Against the backdrop of an orange grove, the Boschetto delle Esperidi, legendary place of Greek mythology guardian of golden fruits, and a green meadow with the richest varieties of flowers, stand out nine figures, in a perfectly rhythmic and harmonic composition from reading from right to left according to the most accredited theory of Aby Warburg.

Zephyr, a spring wind from the west, with his breath kidnaps the nymph Clori making her pregnant. From here was born Flora, the personification of spring itself, in a flowery dress that can already be glimpsed from Clori's mouth, she scatters flowers on the ground, gently holding her womb with her hands. The Goddess Venus in the center of the painting, surrounded by a frame of shrubs, supervises and directs what is happening around her, a symbol of the highest Neoplatonic love. Cupid, the son of the goddess, blindfolded like love that flies over his mother's head.

Next to Venus the three Graces dance harmoniously, hovering in the painting with rhythmic movements embracing life. Closes the group of protagonists Mercury, recognizable by the winged shoes that chases away the clouds to preserve an eternal spring.

Harmonic figures in a perfect compositional balance with sinuous lines and loose poses. An auspicious gift for Pierfrancesco de 'Medici's wedding or simply a celebration of the mating season. The carnal love that consumes us when it is true love is sublimated into something higher or worldly love that becomes a spiritual sign of Botticelli's spiritual crisis.