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The Visual Language of Botticelli's 'Primavera'

  • Gerrit Jan Van der Sman

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

The Medici commission of the Primavera, the first of Botticelli’s ‘mythologies’, represented a major challenge to the artist. This paper focuses on his active engagement with the sources of the invention and the artistic ambitions that drove him to produce a work of art of unparalleled beauty. Botticelli clearly seized the opportunity to show that he was not inferior to any poet of his age when it came to bringing to life the deities of antiquity. At the same time, he set himself the task to emulate the creative force and vitality of nature. Yet another challenge consisted in improving on visual examples of classical art. All three aspects appear to be intimately connected and invite us to rethink the modes of communication between painter, patron and humanist advisor(s).
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationVisual Humanism
Subtitle of host publicationCollaborations between Artists and Humanists (1450-1650)
EditorsMarieke J.E. van den Doel, Maria Fiametta Iovine
Place of PublicationLeiden
PublisherBrill
Chapter8
Pages188-207
Number of pages20
ISBN (Electronic)978-90-04-71091-7
ISBN (Print)978-90-04-71090-0
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 6 Aug 2026

Publication series

NameNIKI Studies in Netherlandish-Italian Art History
PublisherBrill
Volume17
ISSN (Print)2542-5382

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