The «Primavera» of Sandro Botticelli: A Neoplatonic Interpretation (New Connections)

In this interdisciplinary study, Sandro Botticelli's famous Renaissance masterpiece Primavera is analyzed iconographically to demonstrate the possibility that it represents a deliberate and considered attempt on the part of the artist to set forth in artistic terms a Neoplatonic quadripartite «programme» provided by Marsilio Ficino. Beneath the surface inspirations of myth, poetry and legend represented in terms of easily recognizable gods and goddesses, there appears to be an allegorical framework on which the artistic programme was built. This innovate research of the Primavera will make a contribution not only to the field of Italian Renaissance art history, but also to the fields of comparative literature, philosopy, history and religion.