“This picture, at the end of the year 1500, in the troubles of Italy, I, Alessandro, in the half-time after the time, painted, according to the eleventh [chapter] of Saint John, in the second woe of the Apocalypse, during the release of the devil for three and a half (years)…” Botticelli’s inscription on Mystic Nativity translated from the Greek.
Many of us remember the millenium anxiety produced as the year 2000 approached. Fears ranged from the terror of Y2K making our computerized systems fail to the actual end of the world, caused either by the Rapture or a stray asteroid sending us the way of the dinosaurs. However, January 1st passed, and the sun still rose in the east. Life settled back into its usual rhythm of the humdrum spiked by shocking events, general anxiety balanced with personal ambition, and most of us still held the hope of dying peacefully in bed after a rich and full life. Amen.
These sentiments are hardly new as variations of them were rampant in Europe as the year 1000 approached. The next bout of end-of-the-world fever struck in the years just before 1500, and one of the cities that was most caught up in it was Florence, Italy. It was the High Renaissance, and Lorenzo de Medici, the Magnificent, ruled the city when in 1490 an awkward looking, hawk-nosed, Dominican monk arrived. He took a tiny cramped cell in the Convent of San Marco, which had been converted to a monastery by the leader of a local group of Dominicans, a man originally named Guido di Pietro but who is known to us as Fra Angelico. The newly arrived monk had lived in and around Florence before but had drifted away in 1487. However, his return to Florence was no accident. He was a man on a mission that would bowl over the whole city. His name was Girolamo Savonarola.
Savonarola was disgusted by the excesses of Florence and began to preach against what he saw as decadence. Lorenzo de Medici tried to control the rhetoric of this angry preacher but by 1492 found himself on his deathbed repenting his own sins to this monk. Savonarola’s power really took hold in 1494 when the city was threatened by 10,000 French troops led by the French king Charles VIII. Savonarola persuaded the French to leave peacefully, thus gaining a loyal following in Florence.
His preaching against luxury and excess produced his most outrageous move, the Bonfire of the Vanities, which took place in 1497. He convinced the people of Florence to burn their most valuable possessions, fancy clothes, jewels, furniture, paintings, and any other items of excessive value. Unfortunately for us, one of the most famous painters of that era and someone who was a favorite of the Medici threw some of his own paintings into the bonfire. That painter was Sandro Botticelli.
As usual for fanatics, Savonarola ran afoul of too many powerful people and wound up being hung and then burned in the very plaza where his great bonfire had taken place. Yet he left many converts, one of whom seems to have been Botticelli. Botticelli had been the painter who brought the ancient myths and legends into visual reality as the Florentine Renaissance enjoyed the reemergence of the classics from antiquity. His Venus in The Birth of Venus (1484-1485) was the first female nude that was not a religious figure (normally Eve in the Garden of Eden) painted since ancient times. His thinly clad Graces danced about the goddess Flora to celebrate the coming of spring in Primavera (1478-1482). He painted Venus and Mars (1483) as they rested after a tryst, and captured the beauty of Simonetta Vespucci as Athena and the Queen of Beauty (1475). Yet something about 1500 led him to believe that “the end was nigh.”
A particular Bible verse, Isiah 62:3, spoke of a period of tribulation that would last about three and a half years or so, after which the Day of Judgement would come. Things were in such a sorry state in 1500 that the artist calculated that 1504 would be the end. Admittedly 1504 turned out to be a truly bad year for Botticelli, as his pupil and close companion, the painter Filippino Lippi, died. However, in 1500, Botticelli knew nothing about the loss of Lippi. He just thought he was living in the “time in between time – the tribulation.” With that in mind, let’s look at Mystic Nativity.
In this upper portion of Mystic Nativity, a group of twelve angels dance in a circle. They carry olive branches, which have scrolls attached, and as the circle dances around and around, crowns sway with the movement. The angels dance in a sky of gold that has descended, covering the normal blue of an earthly sky with that pure incorruptable substance. With that, Botticelli uses his skills in goldsmithing to harken back to the paintings of the medieval period when gold was used for backgrounds in religious paintings because it was untarnishable, thus a good way to represent the purity of heaven.
The scrolls that unfurl from the olive branches contain the 12 privileges of the Virgin Mary, though at present, the writing can only be seen with infrared light. On the roof of the little hut sheltering the nativity scene are three angels dressed in white, red and green, which respectively represent Faith, Charity, and Hope, also known as the Theological Virtues. Within the iconography of Christianity, this celebratory dance can be seen as the promise of peace that came with the birth of Christ and which would one day (soon in Botticelli’s mind) reign again after the Second Coming. Of course, before the Second Coming would be the Apocalypse, the end of the world as Botticelli knew it. This painting seems to be a balancing of those two major prophesied events.
Sandro Botticelli was known for the charm of his decorative painting, which made his wonderful work in the 1480s so appealing and the favorites of his patrons, the Medici. One sees traces of that style in the dancing angels when compared to his Graces in Primavera.
However, as Savonarola’s preachings took hold, Botticelli’s art became rougher, more crude, and suffused with the fear of the approaching end time. Normally known for being jovial and outgoing, the artist became melancholic, depressed, and more and more isolated. As the Medici lost power in Florence, his commissions fell away, and in fact his name ultimately disappeared entirely, until he was rediscovered in the 19th century when there was a revival of interest in Florentine arts. Yet, with all of the troubles of his time and the millennial fear of apocalypse, the artist once again turned to his original aesthetic to create a vision of peace and harmony that would vanquish the forces of evil.
Here in a detail of the actual nativity scene, much of the imagery is traditional and comes forth from the middle ages. The cow and the donkey are present to indicate the idea of a stable, though this one is set in a forest, as stated in some of the gospels. Mary is a large figure that looms over the child. She and the child and even Joseph to a certain extent are larger than the other figures, indicating their central importance in the story. Mary is presented in adoration of the child as was envisioned in the 14th century by St. Bridget of Sweden. (Bridget of Sweden also envisioned the crucifixion of Christ, which replaced the imagery of Christ as the Good Shepherd, which was a common theme in early Christian art such as that found in Ravenna.) Joseph is on the sidelines, discreetly hunched toward the child. Interestingly, the wise men on the left, though kings, are not dressed in finery nor are any sumptuous gifts present. They seem as humble as the shepherds on the right. Angels are in direct contact with both the shepherds and the kings, touching them and pointing in the direction of the nativity.
This contact between the angels and the humans seems a harbinger of peace and understanding. That message continues in the segment that is just under the section with the nativity.
Here the Virtues, in the form of angels, embrace humans, kissing them on the cheek. In the background and on the sides, grayish winged demons head for the cracks in the earth to hide themselves. It is rather like what happens when cities go through a terrible period of crime and danger but change when ordinary citizens feel empowered to take back the streets by showing their overwhelming presence. Perhaps that is what Botticelli intended with this painting, to empower himself and anyone looking at it to know that bad times will pass and things will change for the better.
This painting is unusual in other ways. It is done in oil on canvas. Botticelli was well known for his paintings in tempera on wooden panels. Perhaps the personal nature of this piece prompted him to choose that medium, as it allows the canvas to be rolled up for storage or even hidden. However, most particularly, it is something of a painted sermon. Yes, it is much influenced by Savonarola’s preachings, but it seems also to have been a personal communication of Botticelli’s. Perhaps, originally, this was just his way of presenting his private thoughts, and how appropriate for a great painter to represent his ideas in this fashion. The painting remained hidden for over 300 years, while other works by the artist were known, if not celebrated as they are today. This painting seems to be the artist’s plea for peace and reconciliation stemming from his fears of a coming apocalypse. And it is a very personal statement, for it is the only one of his paintings that he actually signed.
Articles used for this blog post:
Mystic Nativity/Sandro Botticelli. nationalgallery.org.uk
Art in Tuscany: Sandro Botticelli’s Mystic Nativity travelingintuscany.com
Personal art history notes from classes by Mme. Chantal Duqueroux, Avignon, France.
For a particularly in-depth view of this painting, the history behind it, the life of Botticelli, and further discussion of the mysteries within the painting, take a look at “Sandro Botticelli and the Mystic Nativity” kellybagdanov.com.
Images used in this blog post are of art work in Public Domain.
Marjorie Vernelle is an artist, writer, college professor, and traveler. For more see the Pages at ofartandwine.com. Her author page is at amazon.com and her art at Vernelle Art Boutique vernellestudio.com.
Wine Cocktails for the Holidays!
We all know how refreshing a chilled glass of wine punch can be in the heat of the summer. Well, wine punch does not go away just because a few snowflakes fall. Naturally, one thinks of mulled wine. You know the routine: heat up some red wine, throw in a few spices, some citrus fruit slices, and a cinnamon stick. While there are last minute mulled wine recipes (see a good one here liquor.com), mulled wine does have a long history which you can read about right here on OfArtandWine.com “Let It Snow: Snow Paintings and Mulled Wine.”
What gets really interesting are the national variations on this theme. The Swedes know a thing or two about cold weather and how to knock the chill off. For them it is Glögg. This winter warmer has more than just red wine and citrus. It uses cardamon, ginger, cloves, vodka and port or madeira plus sugar along with the cinnamon and orange zest.
Photo credit to Marcus Nilsson on bonappetit.com
The Germans and the Austrians have their own twist on this age-old formula and theirs is called Gluehwein. This one is known to skiers as an aprés ski drink as it really finishes off the day. In fact its name means “glow wine.” The recipe is the classic one for mulled wine, but if you really want to glow, add in some rum. Have this one when you are somewhere safe and sound, and ready to relax.
One last thing to consider when making these classic mulled wine drinks is the wine. Of course any red wine will work, but the one that comes up in so many recipes is Malbec. The Malbec grape is used in many of the Bordeaux blends and is really food friendly. It goes well with heavier foods like grilled beef, burgers, or chorizo pizza. It has flavors that range from oak, tobacco, baking spices and chocolate to fruit flavors of blackberry, black cherry and plum.
HEY, BUT WHAT ABOUT THE COCKTAILS!
This baby got started in Chicago in the 1800s and is mixology art and science. The science is what to make the whiskey sour with. At acouplecooks.com, they go for high quality Bourbon, with some maple syrup and lemon juice. The art is floating the red wine over the top and getting the little lemon peel to curl in just the right way. No wonder New York picked this up, took what had originally been called a Continental Sour and put it’s own name on it, hence the New York Sour.
Floating a bit of red wine in the most artful way possible can give a Margarita a bit of added beauty. It only takes a half an ounce (no salt rim, please). This, the Devil’s Margarita, is but one of nine red wine cocktails found on liquor.com, where you can find anything from a traditional spritzer to mulled wine with Calvados or a new-fangled Sangaree with Beaujolais Nouveau, sloe gin, and apple brandy.
The blog at snowfarm.com has a particularly interesting warm possibility that involves chocolate, yes, that most wonderful of all sweets. It involves melting semi-sweet chocolate chips along with wine, vanilla, and sugar. You simply stir constantly until the chocolate melts and blends in, then serve. They also offer a winter twist on the Old Fashioned, so go get out the Bourbon again.
When it comes to fun and interesting wine drinks for the holidays or throughout the winter, you have a variety of choices. Drink them at Christmas in good company, around a cozy fire, and contemplate peace and harmony as the Mystic Nativity suggests.
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©marjorie vernelle 2021
Next: Of Art and Wine’s Holiday Wishes.
Loved this story! So amazing to hear about our history.
Thank you. It was really interesting to research this piece and find out about this unusual Botticelli painting, the only one he ever signed.