Spring

 

Spring is a painting by the italian artist Sandro Botticelli that was made sometime between the late 1470s or early 1480s. It is one of the masterworks of the Italian Renaissance, often just known by its italian name - Primavera.

In the center stands the love goddess Venus, as a queen overseeing her court and above her a cupid. To her right are the Three Graces, or Charites, going around in a dance of merriment. To the left of Venus is Flora the goddess of spring that brings flowers from her lap. To the sides we see Mercury and the nymph Chloris carried off by Zephyrus.

In the background we see trees but they are black and seem more like shadowy columns that enclose us. The ground is also black. On this dark background all the fruits and trees look more brighter. Their colours are in stark contrast with the rest of nature.

So what are we to think when we look at this artwork? At first it looks like a celebration of nature, an idealistic allegory of the seasons with love, flowers and beauty at the very center of it. The medieval world has died and the classical one is reborn. A new age has come and this painting is a celebration of youth.

And yet, to the right there is Zephyrus stealing away one of the members of this idyllic scene. He is dark blue like a spirit from the netherworld. Is he winter, a time of death, and its bitter cold that won't go away? And to the left is Mercury the god of thieves. Has he too come to steal something from us? And then there is the darkness that surrounds us. Is the artist trying to say that in nature there is both beauty and harshness?