DONATELLO, Penitent Magdalene, ?1432-1450s
This is an interesting piece, sadly glossed over by many student-oriented publications. It is made of carved wood, covered with gesso (plaster of Paris), and painted. The medium was not commonly used in Italy, but in the rest of Europe it was typically used for "andachtsbilder" (contemplation pieces). Contemplation demands sustained concentration, and it often helps to have something to focus the mind on. Typically, "andachtsbilder" were horrific images to shock the beholder into greater awareness of the reality of the cross and its significance.
Donatello's Magdalene has numerous allusions to help you make metaphysical connections. She stands in the contrapposto stance and her face is expressionless: well-known signals of idealization. She has long blonde hair, and wears a hair-shirt (which is a traditional garment worn by penitents: it is very uncomfortable, so it is a self-imposed punishment to wear it). Other well-known blondes include Eve, Venus, and Lust (who also wears or carries a goatskin). Often The Virgin is also shown as blonde. Another famous Mary is Mary of Egypt who was a mystic, visionary saint, and is depicted as a haggard old woman in a hair shirt.
The connection between Eve and the Virgin is that one caused the Fall, and the other caused the Redemption. So the Virgin is also known as The Second Eve. The connection between Eve and Venus is that both were created miraculously at the beginning of time, both presided over a paradise garden which held a tree of Golden Apples. Venus's tree was guarded by a serpent. Eve's tree was plundered by a serpent. The connection between Venus and Lust is that Venus is the goddess of love, by which is understood spiritual love and erotic love. Take erotic love too far, and it becomes lust. The connection between Mary Magdalene and Lust is that she is traditionally said to have been a reformed prostitute. The connection between all the Maries is their common name. The whole statue therefore seems to present different aspects of love.
BOTTICELLI, Primavera, for Pierfrancesco de Medici, Florence,
c.1482
The programme for this image may have been conceived by the eminent Humanist philosopher, Marsilio Ficino. Its interpretation is still debated, but I like this one.
From right to left, the nymph Chlorys, wooed by Zephyr, is transformed at his touch into Flora, goddess of flowers and spring, who is also known as "Primavera". Traditionally, Venus is also goddess of spring, and another tradition associates the Three Graces with her retinue. A further tradition makes Mercury their leader. Venus is also goddess of love, and above her head, her son Cupid is blindfolded and shooting at a Grace who gazes wistfully at Mercury. But Venus also has a halo effect in the shrubbery, and her raised hand is associated with contemporary Annunciations, which makes her also the Virgin. The connections between the Virgin and Venus you now know well (see Penitent Magdalene, above).
Note the setting: a paradise full of orange trees (the original golden apples and forbidden fruit, which was also sex). Note also that the name Eve means "life-giving", which is the same as "Spring", which is the same as "Primavera". A golden apple was also the cause of the beauty contest between the three goddesses Aphrodite (Venus), Hera (Juno) and Athena (Minerva), which was judged by Paris. Aphrodite won by promising Paris the most beautiful woman in the world for his wife. That was Helen of Troy who was already married to the King of Sparta. Paris got his bride by eloping with her and causing the Trojan War. So the wistful Grace is also Helen, and Mercury is also Paris, and the clouds of war gather. The whole may, therefore, be a message about the awesome power, and danger, of love.
BOTTICELLI, Birth of Venus (companion to Primavera), c.1484-6
For Ficino, the birth of Venus had a spiritual significance: it was part of the mystery of Creation. And because he also saw her as the personification of Classical Beauty, Venus was concerned with our spiritual approach to the Divine (God).
The figure on the right is an Hour, one of Venus' retinue. The rest you have met before (see Penitent Magdalene and Primavera, above). You now know enough to interpret this one yourself.