2. Jerry Tse, July 2010. London. Version 1.2 Botticelli All rights reserved. Available free for non-commercial and non-profit use only. Advance automatically … also use [PgDn] / [PgUp] to move forward / backward. Most successful painter in late 15C, who painted Venus and Madonna equally beautiful. Sandro Botticelli c1445 - 1510 The Birth of Venus & La Primavera

3. Timeline & his work Biography

4. Venus was born out of the sea foam, when Titan Cronus castrated his father Uranus. The severed genitals felt into the sea and fertilizing it. The Birth of Venus

5. Venus The sea had just given birth to a full grown Venus, just off the coast of Cyprus. With help of a fair wind of Zephyr (the god of wind), Venus rode on a giant scallop as she came on shore. She was slightly aware of her nakedness and covered her beasts and genitals with her hands, a pose that dated back to the time of the ancient Greek.

6. His Style The way that Botticelli’s Venus covered herself was derived from the Greco-Roman statue of Venus de Medici, which depicts the birth of Aphrodite. This was a reference of Renaissance to its ancient heritage.

7. The expression on her face is one of serenity and peacefulness whilst bearing the unpolluted beauty of her sexuality.

8. Venus (Aphrodite of Greek) is goddess of love, beauty and fertility. She always represented the two aspects of love, the physical as well as the spiritual aspects of love.

9. Nymph An attentive nymph appeared with a gorgeous robe, embroidered with red & white daisies, yellow primroses and cornflowers to cover the naked goddess as she came on shore.

10. A nymph was wearing a lavishly decorated dress and a garland of myrtle around her neck (a symbol of Venus). She had a branch of roses around her waist and cornflower on her dress. She was Hora, one of the goddess of seasons. Nymph

11. Chloris & Zephyr The entwined bodies and limbs of Zephyr (The West Wind) and Chloris (a nymph) flying through the air, as Zephyr blows a fair wind to carry Venus ashore. All around them are falling roses, as Venus came into being, according to the legend.

12. Chloris & Zephyr Is the entwined bodies and limbs of Zephyr and Chloris shows a union of two people in a loving relationship?

13. Note on painting Botticelli’s Venus As compared to Leonardo’s man, Botticelli elongated Venus’ neck and gave her a smaller head and a slopping shoulder. This gave Venus the impression of a slender body. Venus shifted her weight well outside her left foot, as if she was falling out of the canvas into our world.

15. La Primavera With Cupid shooting arrows Venus While the Three Graces are dancing Zephyr is pursuing Chloris.. as Chloris Is turning Into Flora In the garden of.. and Mercury keeps the rain clouds away

16. Venus & Cupid We found ourselves in the garden of a very dignified Venus with her son Cupid shooting arrows at the Three Graces. Although it was Spring, yet the trees were full of leaves and laden with fruits (golden apples?) and flowers. There are some 500 flowers representing some 170 species. Although she in the centre of the painting but she look more confidence and reserved. Unlike the ‘Birth of Venus’, this Venus has no sex appeal compare to the Three Graces or the attractive- ness of Flora. She raised her right hand. Is this a blessing gesture? Does she looks more like the Virgin Mary? What about cupid, representing baby Jesus? Venus vis Mary

17. Three Graces The Three Graces representing beauty, desire and fulfilment. These sensual revealing semi-nudes were dancing in a circle, feeling the breeze from Zephyr, as indicate by wafts of hairs. Are the Graces in the garden celebrating Spring or female beautiful or the embodiment of love?

18. Three Graces What intricate hair style?

19. Mercury Was Mercury standing guard in the garden, if so why? Using his caduceus staff, he was steering the dark clouds away from the garden or was he pointing to the fruit of a marriage consummation or fulfilment? Why was he included in the painting with his back turn away from everyone else? Was he the massager who bought us the secret knowledge of the past? Or as some suggested Lorenzo the Magnificent? Perhaps he maybe even a homosexual turning away from beautiful Graces?

20. Flora Flora in her glorious embroidered dress stepped forward to sprinkle flowers, as she proclaimed the arrival of Spring. Flora was the rebirth of Chloris. It is the beginning of a new life. Botticelli’s women

21. Flora Have you seen her before?

22. Chloris & Zephyr Zephyr blue with sinister rode in a gust of wind pursuing Chloris, clasping hold of her. While Chloris with suspicious eyes was running away from him at the moment of her metamorphosis into Flora. Her breath began to turn into flowers.

23. Birth of Venus La Primavera Note on painting Chloris & Zephyr The contrast between the two paintings on Zephyr and Chloris cannot be more different. On the ‘The Birth of Venus’ their entwined bodies suggests a loving relationship. On the ‘Primavera’ their relation is one of fear and violence. In the legend, Zephyr marries Chloris after raping her. It is a story of turning away from lust to a everlasting relationship. Is this a statement on political marriage?

24. The first life-size nude for a thousand years or the birth of the freedom of expression

25. Music ‘Love Theme from Romeo and Juliet’, composed by Nino Rota from the film ‘Romeo and Juliet’ directed by Federico Fellini. The End All these paintings share the same room in the Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence. Hit [Space Bar] for more slides below on :- Botitcelli’s Biography Botticelli’s Style A view on The Birth of Venus A veiw on La Primavera Venus vis Mary Women of Botticelli

26. Fra Filippo Lippi teacher of Botticelli Botticelli’s Biography Return Sandro Botticelli (1445-1510) “The Little Barrel”, was a native of Florence. His real name is Alessandro di Maiano Filipepi. He was most influential painter in Florence, in the late 15C. He probably a student to Fra Filippo Lippi. Botticelli established his own workshop in 1470. In 1481, he was summoned by the pope to Rome to do a painting for the Sistine chapel. By the time he painted the Birth of Venus and La Primavera, Botticelli was at the height of his influence. Botticelli never marry and expressed a strong aversion to the idea of marriage, a prospect he claimed gave him nightmares. It is a popular belief that he was in love with Simonetta Vespucci (1453-1476), who became known as the most beautiful woman in Florence. When asked Botticelli said that he would like to be buried at her feet, when he died. His wish was fulfil some 34 years later. In later life, he was a followers of Savonarola, who ruled Florence in 1494 until he was overthrown in 1498. He was known for his burning of books and paintings, against the moral corruption of the Renaissance Humanists. After that Botticelli’s fortunes and his arts never fully recovered. He finally died in obscurity and poverty. Simonetta Vespucci

27. Return Botticelli’s style He style was deliberately archaic, rarely showed much interest in perspective as his contemporary. He painting was more decorative, poetic and gracious than real. His figures rarely casted a shadows. He used clear lines & contours, minimizing strong contrasts. His style was directly opposite to that of Leonardo’s ‘sfumato’ style, which used shading to give his figure ‘solidity’ and reality. Botticelli’s paintings (Life of Moses) in the Sistine chapel also demonstrated his clear visual exposition of narrative skill and theological subtleties. It is mainly due to his style, Botticelli went out of fashion later in his life. He was rediscovered in again in the 19C and gained popularity, supported by the like of the Pre-Raphaelite movement. His paintings ‘The Birth of Venus’ and ‘La Primavera’ are amongst some of the best well-known images of Renaissance paintings today.

28. A view on the Birth of Venus Return The interpretation of painting is a lot simpler compare to ‘La Primavera. The sea has just given birth to a fully grown naked Venus. She was bought onto the shore by help of Zephyr and Chloris. While aware her nakedness, she is not too concern, whilst a nymph rushed forward with a robe to cover the goddess. The most significant fact is that this is the first life-size (non-religious) nude painted in the West for a thousand years, since the Roman Empire in honour of Venus. Some critic saw this Venus as Botticelli’s challenge to the church and the proclamation of artistic and scholarly freedom, denied to them by the Christian Church. Although this maybe the ‘untended consequence’ of the painting, but I do not think this was his intention. Botticelli made most of his money from the Church by painting Madonna. Given what we know about Botticelli religious inclination, this is unlikely. If there was such an intention, it was statement of reconnecting of the Renaissance world to the ancient world, in particular the Greek, acknowledging their contributions to our philosophy, science and our arts. After the death of Lorenzo Medici. The fanatical monk Savonarola rose to power in Florence with his fire and brimstone sermons. He encouraged citizens to burn all pagan works of books and paintings. Botticelli was one of his followers, perhaps a sceptical follower (?). His campaign to stamp out luxury and vice almost destroyed the city. Even the Pope ordered him excommunicated. The citizen of Florence rose and the fanatical monk was burnt alive in the Piazza Della Signoria. Botticelli has never recovered from this, his paintings became more apocalyptic and showed stylistic regression. During this episode even the Leonardo, Michelangelo and Raphael all painted safer subjects. But the flood gate has opened and the baton was passed on to others, in particular to the Venetian painters. In this way the painting became a milestone in the struggle of free thinkers against the restricted practice of theological doctrines. It marked the birth of the freedom of expression in Europe.

29. A view on La Primavera Return La Primavera (Spring) is one of the most written about and most controversial paintings in Western arts. The difficulty in interpretation the paintings is not so much about ‘who were there’ but ‘why they were there’. The different groups of characters seem to have no connection with each others. This painting was commission in c1482. It was the first time a pagan story had provided the subject of a major work in the Renaissance, celebrating female beauty and grace This is how I see the painting. It is a message (hence Mercury) of love (by the presence of Venus). Love on one level is the desire of beauty and fulfilment, (personified by the Three Graces). While Zephyr personifies lust and sexual attraction of love. The spiritual and physical nature of love combined, has transformed Chloris into the happy Flora, who sprinkling of flowers bought on the arrival of Spring, a season of renewal, as a new generation lives appears. Recently, a 1498 document was discovered in the archive suggesting that Primavera was commissioned by no other than Lorenzo the Magnificent for a loveless political marriage of his nephew Pierfrancesco Medici in 1482. Thus a painting started with a sexual violence ending in happiness on the arrival of Spring, became a comforting message to the teenage newlyweds. This painting is not the only example of a sexual violence commissioned for the consumption of a marriage. Botticelli painted a weird series of four paintings, ‘Nastagio degli Onesti’ on a similar themes of sexual violence leading eventually to happiness. If this interpretation is true then Venus is the goddess of love as well as Madonna giving a blessing to the newlywed. Mercury could well be Lorenzo the Magnificent pointing with his staff to the fruit of the marriage. Originally, not only the painting was displayed in a bedroom. It was above a sofa. This position was confirmed by the sole of one of the Graces as view from below. Does this made the Primavera a high- class pornography?

30. Madonna of the MagnificentMadonna of the Pomegranate ‘Venus at Birth’ Virgin Mary in another form or homage to a Florentine beauty? Venus vis Mary Venus was held in high regard by the Greeks and Roman. With the triumph of Christianity, she fell from grace. By the 14C, the sculptor Lorenzo Ghiberti began to see statue of Venus, as work of “great perfection”. This was the beginning of the rehabilitation of Venus. In the ancient world Venus was worshipped as a god and the cult of Venus was widespread. During the Middle Ages, the traditional symbols, like her roses were passed to the Virgin Mary, whose role was utterly opposed. This is also true of her symbol, the shell. The changing meaning of the symbols suggests the need of a dominant mythical female figures in religion (another example of this is the role of Pacha Mama and Madonna in South America), normally associated with fertility. In his paintings, Botticelli blurred the boundary even more with similar looking Venus and Madonna. Return

31. Women of Botticelli Botticelli women were always beautiful with elaborate hair style, a pretty face and a slender hour-glass body. They also have a quiet and peaceful face, ideally suited for Madonna. His women were there for us to worship. Botticelli is painter of the perfect woman. Return