Primavera

La Primavera, Sandro Botticelli, c. 1482Last night at 8.44pm it was the spring equinox in the southern hemisphere. I won’t bore you with all the scientific details of this astronomical event – suffice to say this is the date day and night are the same length. The word ‘equinox’ itself sounds so pretty and mysterious, as though it ought to be marked by strange and beautiful occurrences.

Once such beautiful thing that was immediately brought to my mind is Sandro Botticelli’s 1482 painting Primavera. I have always adored the gorgeous detail and the lush profusion of flowers, oranges and leaves. Apparently there are 500 identified plant species, with about 190 different flowers in this painting, and at least 130 of these have been named! My jaw drops in admiration of Botticelli; I bow to the master.

Read Wikipedia’s interesting entry on the painting.