Botticelli's Spring

La Primavera- Sandro Botticelli

The reason behind why i chose Botticelli’s La Primavera is because the minute i saw it, i really liked the picture and the color, shadowing… Then i also realised it would be a good start to talk about Alberti’s ideas because this painting has historia intensively. According to Alberti historia means “content of the work”, “how all elements are connected” and considering the subjects, color, light… I can comfortably say that Botticelli has made his painting with historia. From the story that painting holds in to the surfaces all of the elements is connected well to each other and that is thing gives this picture beauty. Because according to Alberti without historia beauty is not possible and Alberti thinks a painting should have two virtues; pleasure and admiration for the artists. Beauty of the painting can make this happen.

First of all the i checked the painting’s mythology on the internet because i don’t have much idea about Greek myths yet i can tell who is Venus and Eros (Cupid) when i see them. Alberti was insisting on the mathematics of a painting and the way we see the objects. He says an object occupies a space and the painter should draw around this space. Looking at Venus, who is centred on the painting, it is obvious that she has a  halo around and above her head, and the above her there is Cupid with again occupying some space.  The painting in terms of colouring matches Alberti’s idea of variation from light because when we look at Venus who is the goddess of love, marriage and beauty, is wearing white and red, marriage and love, and the light- the whitest part of the painting, is focused on her belly which i believe is made for highlighting fertility in marriage. The use of black and white has been made wisely that i mean it is right when we put ourselves in Alberti’s shoe. Since here is some white and black in the picture but the painter knew the power of them so he choses to use rightly. Alberti claims the darkness of the wood for instance should not be pictured by using the exact black but instead it should be showed by the very very dark green which seems Botticelli used his suggestion. 

As another important point which Alberti says there should be seven movements in a picture. He believed the movements should be gathered from Nature and they are necessary  and looking closely to the picture, there are all movements that almost you can feel the harmony. The one who is leftmost, one hand is pointing to the sky, to make this movement the other hand of him is on his hip because he balances himself naturally. Since this painting is fit with most of ideas of Alberti, we can discuss the painting on pages however to be clear, i would like to focus one thing that Alberti thinks as the ultimate matter. “I believe one should take care the circumscription is done with the finest possible, almost invisible lines, like those they say the painter Apelles used to practise and vie with protogenes at drawing” (Alberti, 65). He believed in the importance of copying the objects in the right and beautiful angle and La Primavera has a strong use of composition. Without a good use of circumscription it is not likely to make good composition.  “Part of the history are bodies, part of the bodies are members and part of the members are surfaces”. So without good surfaces history could not exist.