Botticelli: images of love and spring

Abstract

In A Tuscan Spring, the vicissitudes of Botticelli's patrons' lives are examined, especially in connection with the intrinsic meanings of the paintings they commissioned from the artist. The author delves into myths and mythological motifs, explores the theory of La Primavera as a wedding portrait, and dwells on the intrigue of masculine desire and female dominance, all beautifully illustrated in color reproductions.

Contents

Myths and Mythological Pictures -- Mars and Venus: Forerunners and Sources in Antiquity -- La Primavera: A Wedding Picture -- Minerva and the Centaur: An Image of Feminine Domination -- The Birth of Venus: An Image of Arrival -- The Villa Lemmi Frescoes: Eternal Love after Death? -- Literary Appendix on La Primavera.