DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.31769#0084
breasts with her lower right arm and hand. With her left
hand she is grasping her luxuriant wind-blown hair, dis-
creetly holding it in front of herself. The goddess of love,
like an alabaster statue, is flanked by three figures in mo-
tion. In the left half of the picture, two figures in the air
are floating towards Venus, their nude bodies partially
covered by light, fluttering draperies. The figure in front
is male, while the figure behind is female. They have their
arms around each other and it looks to all appearances as
though only the male figure has wmgs. The most likely
interpretation of the male figure is that this is Zephyrus,
the warming wind of spring. With his cheeks pufifed out,
he is creating a current of air which Botticelli painted as
a number of fine lines. The female figure at his side is eit-
her Chloris, his spouse, or perhaps — as is more likely
— the personification of a weaker wind, a soft breeze
(Aura), whose opened mouth is releasing a gentle breath
of air. Even if the two figures cannot be identified with
complete certainty, their function in the picture is perfec-
tly clear; they are creating the wind that is guiding Ve-
nus’s craft towards the shore.
In the other half of the picture, on the land, a female
figure dressed in white is awaiting the arrival of Venus
— indeed she is already welcoming the goddess with an
inviting gesture of her right arm, which holds up a red
cloak. This cloak is decorated with countless daisies,
while her own dress is covered with cornflowers. Her
body is encircled by roses and around her neckline there
are myrtle twigs. This figure may well be one of the
goddesses of the seasons, namely the Hora of summer
since cornflowers and roses bloom at the beginning of
summer while daisies continue throughout the entire
warm seasonV Behind the Hora, right by the seashore,
we see the edge of an orange grove and the coastline
The Hora welcomes Venus at the
shore
84
hand she is grasping her luxuriant wind-blown hair, dis-
creetly holding it in front of herself. The goddess of love,
like an alabaster statue, is flanked by three figures in mo-
tion. In the left half of the picture, two figures in the air
are floating towards Venus, their nude bodies partially
covered by light, fluttering draperies. The figure in front
is male, while the figure behind is female. They have their
arms around each other and it looks to all appearances as
though only the male figure has wmgs. The most likely
interpretation of the male figure is that this is Zephyrus,
the warming wind of spring. With his cheeks pufifed out,
he is creating a current of air which Botticelli painted as
a number of fine lines. The female figure at his side is eit-
her Chloris, his spouse, or perhaps — as is more likely
— the personification of a weaker wind, a soft breeze
(Aura), whose opened mouth is releasing a gentle breath
of air. Even if the two figures cannot be identified with
complete certainty, their function in the picture is perfec-
tly clear; they are creating the wind that is guiding Ve-
nus’s craft towards the shore.
In the other half of the picture, on the land, a female
figure dressed in white is awaiting the arrival of Venus
— indeed she is already welcoming the goddess with an
inviting gesture of her right arm, which holds up a red
cloak. This cloak is decorated with countless daisies,
while her own dress is covered with cornflowers. Her
body is encircled by roses and around her neckline there
are myrtle twigs. This figure may well be one of the
goddesses of the seasons, namely the Hora of summer
since cornflowers and roses bloom at the beginning of
summer while daisies continue throughout the entire
warm seasonV Behind the Hora, right by the seashore,
we see the edge of an orange grove and the coastline
The Hora welcomes Venus at the
shore
84