Primavera (c. 1482) Sandro Botticelli, Tempera on wood
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence


At the right Zephyr, the warm wind of Spring, embraces the Roman goddess Flora, that is the nymph Chloris, disphanously clad and running from his amorous clasp. She is shown at the moment of her metamorphosis into Flora, as her breath turns to flowers which take root over the countryside. We see Flora as a goddess, in all her glory as she steps forward clad in blossoms.





Botticelli takes his inspiration from Ovid's Fasti: Chloris eram quae Flora vocor (I once was Chloris who am now called Flora). As in the triad of the three Graces, here the neophyte is transformed, enraptured by love. The fleeing nymph (Chastity) and the amorous Zephyr (Passion) unite in Flora (Beauty).