Daydreams of Apocalypse - Botticelli's "Mystic Nativity"

Looking at artists and artifacts of the Renaissance period this week, I focused on Sandro Botticelli (1444-1510), a well-known painter of the period. Close to Lorenzo de Medici, Botticelli produced paintings both adherent to classical naturalism, yet particularly imaginative in execution (Zophy 90).  He was later influenced by the Dominican friar, Savonarola, who stressed an apocalyptic vision (pbs.org). Therefore, I chose to examine a later painting of Botticelli, one that likely reflects the intertwining concerns of apocalypse with the matured style of the Renaissance master.

“Mystic Nativity,” as it has been named, was painted by Botticelli in 1500, likely for a patron in Florence (nationalgallery.org). The image is first and foremost intriguing for the combined spiritual themes of both beginning (Jesus’s birth) and end (Revelations). The painting maintains Renaissance conventions of style- the symmetrical nature of figures and landscape, the emotive facial expressions of the figures, an overall naturalistic portrayal and a classical approach to nature/beauty.  In the painting, Mary appears as the central figure, kneeled over Jesus, while Joseph is more secondary, even turned away from the viewer’s perspective. The angels located near the earth almost appear as interlopers within the scene, interspersed amongst those who have come to visit the baby Jesus. Three angels perch on the roof, while the large rip or opening in the sky appears both contradictorily peaceful and looming at once. Additionally, the cave-like rock surrounding the small hut could be indicative of Jesus’s resurrection as well. Moreover, demons crawl in the very foreground where the darkest spots (light-wise) lurk in the painting. Consequentially, Botticelli may be rendering time as circuitous, rather than straightforward. On the other hand, the painter may have felt the forthcoming apocalypse to be an immediate danger, narrowing the timeframe from Jesus’s birth to the end of the world. Either or, the painting holds some chaotic urgency, even if remaining true to the stylistic importance of nature and order. In effect, the painting feels more questioning than frightening, blurring lines of reality even in a naturalistic style. Therefore, the painting lends a crucial understanding of the Renaissance period itself: the desire for order, for a rebirth of classicism, for perfection in figure, expression- all relate to underlying reactions to a somewhat chaotic, changing Renaissance world, one that sometimes resulted in beautiful manifestations of fear.

 

Sources:

http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/sandro-botticelli-mystic-nativity (image as well)

http://www.pbs.org/empires/medici/renaissance/botticelli.html

Zophy, Jonathan W. A Short History of Renaissance and Reformation Europe. Pearson Prentice Hall, 2009.