Botticellis Mythological Paintings

Botticelli's Mythological Paintings

The paintings done by different artists exemplify the influences that they have had throughout their life. The style and topics chosen for the artwork are two of the major elements of any painting. In Sandro Botticelli's work, the topics chosen for the painting are that he was influenced by the Renaissance Neoplatonism, coupled by the Medici Humanism all presented in his work in various ways.

Sandro Botticelli one of the great Italian masters of art demonstrated a preference for spirituality in his scenic patterns and portraits that were a reaction against the conceptual realism of Masaccio. His reaction was to introduce the elements of Gothic art which were shown through sentiment, passion, ornamental styles that used myths of the past creating allegory's and symbolic images, later combined with the Medici humanism. The Medici family, were the Renaissance patrons of Florentine art who changed the era of art to one that moved from realism to sentiment.

Botticelli's work demonstrates a mixture of influences for the topics chosen coupled by the style implemented. The topics chosen for Botticelli's work were derived from long standing beliefs and legends, but the style that he used to present them was archaic. Medici humanism showed a love of the classics and the past and the passion they felt for these themes presented themselves through the work the artists they patronized created. This is particularly noticeable in the painting, Mars and Venus by Botticell.

Venus and Mars, 1480-90, The National Gallery, London [L. Cheney's "Botticelli's Mythological Paintings]

The influence of the Italian Renaissance is seen in this piece of work through type of clothes the characters in the painting wear and the manner in which the scene resembles the Plato and the Platonic tradition. Far more obvious is the influence of Medici's Humanism. The Medici family was in power during the era in which Botticelli lived and it was their patronage that made him famous. He depicted the aristocrats and catered to their preferences more than any social revolution that may have been taking place at the time. The aristocrats of the time favored the past classics and as such here we see a Greek influence in the nudity of the bodies. The male body was seen as a form of art and by showing the nude form reclined amidst the women and children the classical Greek preferences were portrayed. Then we see the cherub in the picture which resembles Cupid the child god of love so cherished by the Romans.

With these obvious elements of love depicted we can easily decipher the woman in the image as that of Venus and predict the male as Mars; three mythological characters, signifying rage and love. In mythological terms, it is said that the result of rage and love is harmony, and this is what is reflected in the painting because the child has a lovely smile on his face.