I love the idea that the painting made references to the Medici. It's like homemade memes with niche references that can only be understood within your friend group.
I love the way you walk us through the narrative of this painting! I've seen it so many times but honestly never knew the action that was happening in it. I feel like this is a plague of so much art that has become this well-known. You almost become blind to the details.
Love this! I really appreciated your point about Botticelli highlighting the ambivalent aspects of metamorphosis and spring. I've been reading Barolsky's book Ovid and the Metamorphosis of Modern Art and he notices so many metamorphoses in the painting, including the outlines of flowers behind Chloris' transparent dress that suggest an early stage of transformation, completed in Flora's figure covered in flowers.
I love Primavera and this deep dive was so interesting :) I actually never stopped to identify all the figures in the scene, for some reason! Chloris is especially interesting to me—the word in Greek can mean 'green' but has a more basic meaning of 'pale', and is sometimes a descriptor used in relation to death: the paleness (or green-ness) of corpses and even of Death itself. I'd have to double check, but I think in Revelation the horse that Death rides on is described as chloros, as an example. Anyway, it seemed like an interesting resonance to me when thinking through some of the darker themes of the painting that you describe. Thank you so much for this!
Thank you, Rebecca, for the enlightening and entertaining walk-through of this painting...which I've actually SEEN in person (it's small, around 11 x 14", I recall, but I could be wrong) at the Uffizi gallery. I bought a magnet of it in the gift shop, ha ha.
I love the idea that the painting made references to the Medici. It's like homemade memes with niche references that can only be understood within your friend group.
Totally!! 💯
It's also such a hidden but also blatant display of their wealth. Like having hand towels embroidered with your initials in the bathroom.
I love the way you walk us through the narrative of this painting! I've seen it so many times but honestly never knew the action that was happening in it. I feel like this is a plague of so much art that has become this well-known. You almost become blind to the details.
There’s also Flora’s Cloak by Gluck c1923 at Tate Britain.
(I can’t seem to post a picture in the comments but here is a link if anyone is interested - https://media.tate.org.uk/art/images/work/T/T15/T15334_10.jpg)
Love this! I really appreciated your point about Botticelli highlighting the ambivalent aspects of metamorphosis and spring. I've been reading Barolsky's book Ovid and the Metamorphosis of Modern Art and he notices so many metamorphoses in the painting, including the outlines of flowers behind Chloris' transparent dress that suggest an early stage of transformation, completed in Flora's figure covered in flowers.
I love Primavera and this deep dive was so interesting :) I actually never stopped to identify all the figures in the scene, for some reason! Chloris is especially interesting to me—the word in Greek can mean 'green' but has a more basic meaning of 'pale', and is sometimes a descriptor used in relation to death: the paleness (or green-ness) of corpses and even of Death itself. I'd have to double check, but I think in Revelation the horse that Death rides on is described as chloros, as an example. Anyway, it seemed like an interesting resonance to me when thinking through some of the darker themes of the painting that you describe. Thank you so much for this!
This is really enlightening and it really makes me wish I took Greek at school!
Thank you, Rebecca, for the enlightening and entertaining walk-through of this painting...which I've actually SEEN in person (it's small, around 11 x 14", I recall, but I could be wrong) at the Uffizi gallery. I bought a magnet of it in the gift shop, ha ha.
Yes it’s always very crowded in there!! 😂
I had no idea what all was hidden (in plain sight, as it turns out😎) in Primavera. Thanks so much for this wholly enjoyable essay!
Glad you enjoyed! 🌻🌻
Absolutely fascinating! I've seen this painting so many times before, but always focused on Venus, not on Flora.
Imagine eternally living in Venus’ shadow 🙂↔️
Great. On contemporary artists I thought of Georg Wilson..
I haven’t seen his work! Where can I find it?
Check her out at www.georgwilson.com - a Richard Dadd of our days, perhaps!
powerful, I love it! Thank you for introducing her work to me
Fascinating, as ever! 👏
Thank you! 🙏
As if Persephone was not raped in both senses and carried off by force.