Sandro Botticelli's "Primavera" is on view at the Galleria degli Uffizi in
Florence. The composition was done circa 1482 and is an oil on canvas composition 6’8” by 10’4” in measure. The composition is a horizontally formatted social scene including nine figures.
The figure farthest to the left in the composition is a young man wrapped in a bright red cloth draped over the figure’s right shoulder and secured at the left hip with a bandolier hung across the same shoulder holding a short sword. The figure is facing in a three-quarters view to the left of the composition and up towards the left corner. The left hand is braced on the left hip while the right hand is reaching up and holding a small wand, dark brown in color with two identical dragon-like creatures on it, held vertically. The figure has dark, curly hair with a three-cornered hat and is wearing boots that rise to mid calf, but leave the toes revealed.
Next to the figure farthest to the left is a group of three female figures standing in a circle. All three figures have at least one ankle turned as if in motion and are dressed in transparent white cloth that moves about their bodies. The figure farthest to the left is facing right in a three-quarters view and is also turned to the right of the painting. The figure has hair of a medium red that flows down her back and wears a brooch of some sort on the front of her dress. The middle figure is turned towards the back of the composition while she faces to the left in a profile. Her hair is slightly darker than the first figure’s, but still red in color. While the dresses of the two other figures cover both shoulders, the dress of the middle figure only covers the right shoulder and goes under the left. The figure farthest to the right faces the left of the composition in a three-quarters view and is turned towards the left of the composition. She wears a necklace with a pendant on it around her neck, and her hair is the lightest in color, a yellow-blonde.
On the farthest right of the composition, a gray-blue figure with wings spread faces the left of the composition, but his face is a three-quarters view also to the left. The figure has both arms outstretched towards the female figure next to it. The gray-blue figure only wears a swath of cloth draped across the right shoulder almost the same color as its skin.
The second figure to the right of the composition is a female dressed in the same light, see-through fabric as the three figures on the left of the composition. Her body is facing the left of the composition while her face looks back to the right in a three-quarters view. Both of the figure’s hands are stretched to the left of the composition with fingers spread wide, and her right foot is on the ground while the left is out behind her. The figure’s blond hair flows around her neck, and a vine of leaves and flowers protrudes from her open mouth.
The third figure from the right is a woman dressed in a flower-printed dress with bare feet and a wreath of flowers on her blond head. Her body and face are facing almost frontal, but very slightly to the left of the composition. Her left arm holds flower petals in a fold of her dress while her right hand is partially covered by the petals in the fold. Similar petals lie on the ground around her left foot, which is set in front of her, and her right foot, which is placed behind her with only the toes touching the ground.
At the top cent of the composition, a small cherub-like figure hangs with wings protruding from his back, feet towards the right side of the composition, and head to the left of the composition. The figure’s left arm is outstretched, hold a strung bow, and a red case of arrows is slung over a shoulder. The figure is unclothed, and the arrow is aimed somewhere in the left of the composition.
Under the cherub stands a female figure, farther back than any of the other figures, with a golden crown in a frontal view with head tilted to the left of the composition. She wears a gray-white dress that falls almost to the ground, and a cloth is draped across her right shoulder that is red on one side and a pattern of blue and gold on the other. The figure’s left hand holds a bunch of the red cloth at her side while the right arm is bent at the elbow, parallel to the bottom of the composition, with fingers outstretched. The right foot is placed on the ground, while on the left foot, only the toes reach the ground and not the heel.
All of the figures are lightly colored in comparison to the ground and the trees. The ground and trees are darker and duller, making the figures stand out more. The centered figure is standing farther back than the other figures. The trees form two lines, starting from the left and right of the composition and move towards the center, forming a triangle, with the bottom side being the row of figures. The female figure in the center is at the center of the triangle. The trees are dark in color and have some individual leaves, but only easily seen in the outline, and the orange fruits stand out the most from the dark of the trees. The centered woman stands in front of a group of bushes with leaves and branches that spread out from behind her and almost for a halo around her. The trees and the bushes behind the center figure stand out well against the light blue of the background that fades as it moves towards the edges of the composition.
The figures, petals, and fruits are painted in warmer colors than the trees, ground, and background. Most of the lines in the composition are smoother and curved; even the leaves on the trees are more curved than angular. Because of the smooth lines, the colors are what make the focal points of the composition stand out from the background. The darker colors fade into the back, while the warmer colors pulled the eye to the center of the composition, where the center figure is wreathed by the colors of the line of figures and of the fruits on the trees. The light source on the painting is coming from somewhere to the left of the composition because the figures have highlights on the right sides.Sandro Botticelli's "Primavera" is on view at the Galleria degli Uffizi in
Florence. The composition was done circa 1482 and is an oil on canvas composition 6’8” by 10’4” in measure. The composition is a horizontally formatted social scene including nine figures.
The figure farthest to the left in the composition is a young man wrapped in a bright red cloth draped over the figure’s right shoulder and secured at the left hip with a bandolier hung across the same shoulder holding a short sword. The figure is facing in a three-quarters view to the left of the composition and up towards the left corner. The left hand is braced on the left hip while the right hand is reaching up and holding a small wand, dark brown in color with two identical dragon-like creatures on it, held vertically. The figure has dark, curly hair with a three-cornered hat and is wearing boots that rise to mid calf, but leave the toes revealed.
Next to the figure farthest to the left is a group of three female figures standing in a circle. All three figures have at least one ankle turned as if in motion and are dressed in transparent white cloth that moves about their bodies. The figure farthest to the left is facing right in a three-quarters view and is also turned to the right of the painting. The figure has hair of a medium red that flows down her back and wears a brooch of some sort on the front of her dress. The middle figure is turned towards the back of the composition while she faces to the left in a profile. Her hair is slightly darker than the first figure’s, but still red in color. While the dresses of the two other figures cover both shoulders, the dress of the middle figure only covers the right shoulder and goes under the left. The figure farthest to the right faces the left of the composition in a three-quarters view and is turned towards the left of the composition. She wears a necklace with a pendant on it around her neck, and her hair is the lightest in color, a yellow-blonde.
On the farthest right of the composition, a gray-blue figure with wings spread faces the left of the composition, but his face is a three-quarters view also to the left. The figure has both arms outstretched towards the female figure next to it. The gray-blue figure only wears a swath of cloth draped across the right shoulder almost the same color as its skin.
The second figure to the right of the composition is a female dressed in the same light, see-through fabric as the three figures on the left of the composition. Her body is facing the left of the composition while her face looks back to the right in a three-quarters view. Both of the figure’s hands are stretched to the left of the composition with fingers spread wide, and her right foot is on the ground while the left is out behind her. The figure’s blond hair flows around her neck, and a vine of leaves and flowers protrudes from her open mouth.
The third figure from the right is a woman dressed in a flower-printed dress with bare feet and a wreath of flowers on her blond head. Her body and face are facing almost frontal, but very slightly to the left of the composition. Her left arm holds flower petals in a fold of her dress while her right hand is partially covered by the petals in the fold. Similar petals lie on the ground around her left foot, which is set in front of her, and her right foot, which is placed behind her with only the toes touching the ground.
At the top cent of the composition, a small cherub-like figure hangs with wings protruding from his back, feet towards the right side of the composition, and head to the left of the composition. The figure’s left arm is outstretched, hold a strung bow, and a red case of arrows is slung over a shoulder. The figure is unclothed, and the arrow is aimed somewhere in the left of the composition.
Under the cherub stands a female figure, farther back than any of the other figures, with a golden crown in a frontal view with head tilted to the left of the composition. She wears a gray-white dress that falls almost to the ground, and a cloth is draped across her right shoulder that is red on one side and a pattern of blue and gold on the other. The figure’s left hand holds a bunch of the red cloth at her side while the right arm is bent at the elbow, parallel to the bottom of the composition, with fingers outstretched. The right foot is placed on the ground, while on the left foot, only the toes reach the ground and not the heel.
All of the figures are lightly colored in comparison to the ground and the trees. The ground and trees are darker and duller, making the figures stand out more. The centered figure is standing farther back than the other figures. The trees form two lines, starting from the left and right of the composition and move towards the center, forming a triangle, with the bottom side being the row of figures. The female figure in the center is at the center of the triangle. The trees are dark in color and have some individual leaves, but only easily seen in the outline, and the orange fruits stand out the most from the dark of the trees. The centered woman stands in front of a group of bushes with leaves and branches that spread out from behind her and almost for a halo around her. The trees and the bushes behind the center figure stand out well against the light blue of the background that fades as it moves towards the edges of the composition.
The figures, petals, and fruits are painted in warmer colors than the trees, ground, and background. Most of the lines in the composition are smoother and curved; even the leaves on the trees are more curved than angular. Because of the smooth lines, the colors are what make the focal points of the composition stand out from the background. The darker colors fade into the back, while the warmer colors pulled the eye to the center of the composition, where the center figure is wreathed by the colors of the line of figures and of the fruits on the trees. The light source on the painting is coming from somewhere to the left of the composition because the figures have highlights on the right sides.
