Woman's Art, Inc.

Botticelli's "Primavera": A Lesson for the Bride

Author(s): Lilian Zirpolo
Source: Woman's Art Journal, Vol. 12, No. 2 (Autumn, 1991 - Winter, 1992), pp. 24-28
Published by: Woman's Art, Inc.
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1358279 .
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uu3.W?UE.inEEUkeu:ES.

he Primavera (c. 1482; goddess of love appears as in an

E
Fig. 1) by Sandro Botti-
celli depicts a mythologi-
cal scene that must be read from
BOTTIC L LIS

1\_J |j1 I 11
- iepiphany
p amid the veryflowers of
the Tuscan spring...to greet and
bless the patron and his bride.9
to
right left, beginning with the
figure representing Zephyrus,
the West Wind. Zephyruschases
the nymph Chloris, who, startled
PRIMA B^vA
LV ER
Indeed, the Primavera can be
viewed as an epithalamium, a
visual poem in honor of the bride
by his a
pursuit, produces string and groom, as Barolskydescribes
of flowers from her mouth.
Chloris, in turn, is transformed
A Lesson fo&
r the Bride it. Yet, rather than dealing with
the implications of the premise
into Flora, the third figure, that the Primavera celebrates a
whose garment is luxuriously marriage, Barolsky pursues the
decorated with floral motifs. By Lilian; irpolo
?connection between Botticelli's
Flora gathers her dress, cradling painting and Dante's Earthly
some flowers amidst the folds. Paradise.'?
She scatters these flowers, primarilyin the direction of Venus, Although the painting embodies the Neoplatonic philosophy
the goddess of love, who occupies the central position in the and draws from a gamut of literarysources, its originalfunction
painting. To Venus's right are the Three Graces, her frequent was to serve as a model of behaviorfor the bride. Therefore, its
companions. Cupid, the product of the union between Venus analysisshould be treated in the context of Renaissancemarriage
and Mercury (standing at the far left), hovers above his mother rituals, and the status of the bride must be taken into account.
while pointing his flaming arrow at one of the Graces. This To accomplish this, it is necessary to examine the Primaveraas
scene takes place in a fertile garden filled with an innumerable part of a greater whole, since the paintingwas originallya com-
variety of blossoms and shaded by orange trees in the back- ponent of a decorativeprogram.
ground. In 1975, Webster Smith published the results of his archival
Most art historians who have contributed to the under- studies relating to Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco's possessions."
standing of the Primavera's highly complex iconographic pro- Examining Medici inventories dated 1499, 1503, and 1516,
gram have interpreted it within the context of Neoplatonism, Smith concluded that the Primavera was originally located in
which dominatedthe philosophyof the Medici circle. Botticelli, the Medici house on the Via Larga in Florence, in a room
a Medici protege, enjoyed the company of the most brilliant adjoining the nuptial chamber shared by the young Lorenzo
Florentine humanists, scholars, and poets with whom Lorenzo and his bride. Smith was also able to reconstruct the manner
the Magnificentsurroundedhimself, including MarsilioFicino, in which this adjoining room was furnished. The Primavera,
the greatest exponent of Neoplatonism.' In fact, E. H. he found, was affixed directly on the wall above a lettuccio, or
Gombrich has suggested that Ficino himself may have been bedstead. The lettuccio, apparentlyhighly ornate, as suggested
responsiblefor the programof the Primavera.2 by its elevated value in the 1499 inventory, was mounted on a
Umberto Baldini perceived the work as a symbolic reference predella. Its backrest served as a cappellinaio where hats were
to the Platoniccycle: "the passage from the active to the elevat- hung, and its base functioned as a cassone, or marriage chest.
ed, more contemplative life, from the temporal to the eternal Botticelli's so-called Pallas and the Centaur (c. 1482; Fig. 2)
plane."3 Mirella Levi D'Ancona also recognized the embodiment and an anonymous Madonna and Child also decorated this
of Neoplatonicthoughtin the Primaveraand describedit as: area. According to the inventory, Pallas and the Centaur was
located above the entranceway of the room, opposite the wall
the manifestof sensual beauty of bodies and nature regulatedby occupied by the Primavera. The Madonna and Child adorned
the rhythm of dance and music...conceivedas an inducementto a third wall, while the fourth side of the chamber was taken up
enjoy the far greater pleasuresof the soul, which consist of intel- by an armoire. A bed, a table with stools, and some chairs
lectual study and metaphysicalrapture.... As the various images completed the decor.12
unfold in the picture, the soul of the beholder is gradually led Smith's reconstructionsuggests that the decorative program
from the beauty of this world to the far greater beauty of the of this room adjoiningthe maritalchamber served as a means of
heavenlyspirit which all
pervades things.4 admonishingLorenzo di Pierfrancesco'sbride and supplyingher
with lessons on chastity,submission,and procreation.
Scholars have also related the Primavera to the literature Noblewomen of the Renaissancewere bound to chastity,and
that was either read or written by members of the Medici cir- the paintings in the adjoining room provided Semiramidewith
cle. For example, Paul Barolsky discusses the relationship of symbolic encouragement to chaste behavior.'3 In 1975 John
Botticelli's panel with Dante's Divine Comedy,5Aby Warburg Shearman interpreted Botticelli's Pallas and the Centaur as a
associates it with Ovid's Fasti,6and Charles Dempsey proposes symbol of chastity,as did Ronald Lightbownin his 1978 mono-
an analogybetween the Primaveraand Poliziano'sRusticus.7 graphon the artist.14As Shearmanpoints out, in the inventoryof
Although most art historians now believe the Primavera was 1499 Pallas and the Centaur is referred to as Camilla and a
commissioned on the occasion of the wedding of Lorenzo di Satyr, an identificationthat is plausible since Pallas'sspear and
Pierfrancesco de' Medici to Semiramide d'Appiani,8few relate the aegis bearing the head of a Medusa are not present in the
its iconography to nuptial rituals and customs practiced in painting.'5He also explainsthat Camillawas one of the heroines
Florence during the Quattrocento. Barolsky,for example, has of Virgil'sAeneid, where she is described as a Volscianwarrior-
written that the Primaverais maiden who carries a battle-axenot unlike the weapon held by
the female figure in Botticelli's picture. In the Aeneid, she is
a sort of epithalamiumor poemcelebratingmarriage,in which the referred to as "Decus Italiae Virgo" or "Glorious Maiden of

0
Italy." As a servant of Diana, goddess
of the hunt, she cherishes her
weapons and her virginity.'
Shearman also found mention of
Camilla in Boccaccio's De mulieribus
claris, where, as in the Aeneid she is
portrayed as a model of virtuous and
chaste behavior. Boccaccio, at the end
of his chapter, advises young women
to follow in the footsteps of the
remarkable Camilla by exercising
moderation in speech, gestures, food
and beverage consumption, and, most
importantly, by curbing their lascivi-
ous urges.'7 The desirable womanly
qualities stressed by Boccaccio in the i
14th century were still considered ^
befitting of the women of the
Quattrocento. In Francesco Barbaro's
influential treatise, "On Wifely
Duties," written in 1415 in honor of
the marriage of Lorenzo de' Medici,
the son of Giovanni de' Bicci, to
Ginevra Cavalcanti,the writer assert-
ed: "Moderationin a wife is believed Fig. 1. Sandro Botticelli, The Primavera (c. 1482), tempera on wood,
to consist especially in controlling her 203 x 314 cm. Uffizi.
demeanor, behavior, speech, dress,
eating and lovemaking."'8 the eyes, a hasty gait, and excessive movement of the hands and
The iconography of Botticelli's Camilla and the other parts of the body cannot be done without loss of dignity.-
gains deeper meaning in the light of this literary di One must ask, however, whether Semiramide would have
The restrainingaction by the female figure upon the c recognized the female figure in Camillaand the Centaur and the
lustful creature whose behavior is governed by hi: Three Graces in the Primavera, and whether she would have
nature, can be interpreted as both a symbol of the c understoodwhat these figureswere meant to represent. During
carnal desires represented by the centaur and the res the Renaissance, the humanist desire to revive classical ideals
inappropriateconduct referred to by Boccaccio. Thus provided an arenawhere education not only for men but also for
son offered to the bride by Botticelli's Camilla and the women became the norm.3 However, men were educated dif-
is that she too is expected to be chaste and virtuou ferently. Humanists argued that study of the writings of
"Decus Italiae Virgo." Demosthenes, Aristotle, Pliny, and others provided noble boys
The theme of chastity found in Camilla and the Cl with the necessary preparationfor their future role as complete
repeated in the Primavera, where the Three Graces ; citizens and capable social servants.2 Girls, on the other hand,
chaste behavior. The attendants of Venus, they are d were molded into the role of perfect wife and mother. They
by Seneca as virgins because they are "pure and unde were taught social graces,includingdancing,singing,and playing
holy in the eyes of all."'9 The pearls adorning the ha a musicalinstrument.?5
Grace on the right, as well as the pearl on her necklace Leonardo Bruni, the humanist who served as Chancellor of
her purity and that of her two companions. Cupid p Florence from 1427 to 1444, advocated female instruction. Yet
arrow at one of the Graces, implying that she is about for him, limits had to be set on what women should learn since,
don virginity for marriage,"2 just as Lorenzo di Pierfrn in his view, certain studies were improper for a lady. Although
bride relinquished her virginity after viewing the Pr setting no boundaries on subjects suitable for males, he advo-
upon entering her husband'sbedroom for the first timE cated history, poetry, religion, and morals as the only appropri-
Botticelli's Graces, like Camilla, represent not on ate studies for females. Bruni's views are clearly expressed in
and chastity but also the demeanor that befitted the his letter to Baptista Malatesta,in which he praises her intelli-
Renaissancewoman. Their measured and elegant gest gence and encourages her to continue her efforts to expand her
their unemotional facades evoke not only Boccaccio's knowledge:
of the commendable maiden but also Barbaro'snotic
ideal wife. In the Primavera the Three Graces pE I am led to address this Tractate to you, Illustrious Lady, by the
dance with movements that are as calculated and resti high repute which attaches to your name in the field of learn-
the movements Barbaro recommended for a virtuou ing; and I offer it partly as an encouragement to further effort.
"OnWifely Duties": Were it necessary I might urge you by brilliant instances from
antiquity: Cornelia, the daughter of Scipio whose Epistles sur-
I therefore would like wives to evidence modesty at vived for centuries as models of style; Sappho the poetess, held
and in all places. They can do this if they will preserve in so great honourfor the exuberance of her poetic art.... Upon
ness and restraint in the movements of the eyes, in th these, the most distinguished of a long range of great names, I
ing, and in the movement of their bodies; for the warn would have you fix your mind; for an intelligence such as your

WOMAN'S ART JOURNAL FALL 1991/WINTER 1992


own can be satisfied, with nothing less . .....
than the best. You yourself, indeed - *i
may hope to win a fame higher even
than theirs.26 --
Bruni then indicates the types of learn- 0;
ing deemed appropriatefor a woman: E r.
To her neither the intricacies of debate :.
nor the oratorical artifices of action
and delivery are of the least practical r violence on her as was used against
use if indeed they are not positively
.;
unbecoming. What Disciplines then
are properly open to her? In the first
place she has before her, as a subject
peculiarly her own, the whole field of
religion and morals.... First among
such studies I place History: a subject
which must not on any account be
neglected by one who aspires true cul-
tivation.... I come now to Poetry and
the Poets-a subject with which every
educated lady must shew herself thor-
oughly familiar.2
For poetry and the classics, human- Fig. 2. Sandro Botticelli,Caimillaand the Centaur (?)
ists emphasized Cicero, Virgil, and (c. 1482), tempera on coInves, 207 x 148 cm. Uffizi.
Seneca, authorswho offered lessons in
womanly virtues.28Paintingssuch as the Primaveraand Camilla
and the Centaur provided women with readily recognizable
visual versions of these literarylessons.
Another lesson furnished for the bride was the importanceof
submissionto her husband. During the Renaissancenoble mar-
riages were arranged as political, economic, and dynastic
enhancements.29 The marriageof Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco to
Semiramide was arranged by Lorenzo the Magnificent, the
groom's cousin and guardian.30 Through this union, the
Magnificent was able to secure the support of the Appiani
againstthe Pope and the King of Naples, and gain access to the
iron mines of Elba, which were part of the Appianidomain.3
Since marriageswere arrangedas strategic maneuvers,it was
of utmost importancethat the bride conform to the wishes of the
families involved in the liaison, and that she submit to her new
husband,regardlessof her feelings. In the Primavera,this vision
of marriagefor the sake of the families and the emphasis on the
bride's submission are expressed by the rape scene showing
Chlorispursued by Zephyrus,the West Wind, whose intention is
to ravishher. This scene stems from Ovid'sFasti, where Chloris
narratesthat she was raped by Zephyrusand then rewardedfor
the violence perpetratedagainsther. To compensate Chlorisfor
his actions, Zephyrus married her and gave her the domain of
flowers, changingher name to Flora.32
The atmosphereis so festive in the Primaverathat the brutal-
ity of the rape scene can hardly be discerned. Yet, upon close
scrutinyit becomes evident that, unlike the other female figures
who are tall, slender, and graceful, Chloris has a beastlike
appearance. Her stance resembles that of a frightened and
defenseless animal, a panic-strickencreaturewho tries in vain to
flee as she is about to fall prey to her hunter.
Why a rape scene in a painting that commemorates a mar-
riage? D'Ancona suggests that although an image representing
such a violationis unsuitablefor a marriagepainting,in this case
the scene is justifiable since Zephyrus married Chloris and
i
, i'f: restoredher honor.3:There is, howev-
er, a more logical explanation. Roman
:'fKfII
.,:'"t'. ~humanist Marco Antonio Altieri
1|I^c< ;** >y (1450-1532) perceived the origin of
marriage in the rape of the Sabine
. ,^s -
J^ women. In his treatise Li Nuptiali, he
wrote that all wedding ceremonies
.:~
?t3\$ ..E
-recall this collective rape.34 In his
4;'~' lview, when a man takes his wife by
the hand he exhibits the same use of
the Sabine women.5 Altieri's treatise
'~ ~isfilled with associationsbetween this
& , 2
' story from antiquity and the nuptial
...r.. . ritualsof the Renaissance. For exam-
pie, he viewed the raising of a sword
over the heads of the bride and groom
.! 'j
' ,: -2 _
i :..
~i^ : : that took place during nuptial cere-
|^ :^, ~L monies as an evocation of the forced
marriages of the Sabine women per-
formed by Romulus, who held a
swordthroughout.'3
In the Renaissance, cassoni, mar-
riage chests in which bridal
trousseaus were stored, often were
decorated with rape scenes, including
the rapes of Proserpina, Helen,
Europa, and, most importantly, the
Sabine women, as in Figure 3.3 As Altieri's writings suggest,
these were used to evoke the ancient myth of the founding of
Rome and to imply that, just as the Sabine women were raped
in order to ensure the survivalof Romulus'ssettlement, submis-
sion to the male by the Quattrocento female was necessary to
guarantee a stable society and the perpetuation of the species.?
Thus, the image representing the rape of Chloris by Zephyrus
depicted in the Primaveraserved to instructthe bride to submit
to her new husband for the sake of order, stability,and the con-
tinuationof the race, or as in this case, the Medici family.
The Primavera,as stated earlier,was originallylocated above
a lettuccio, which also served as a cassone. Although the inven-
tories do not describe the decoration on the cassone, they do
specify that the length of this piece of furniturecorrespondedto
the length of the Primavera.39This suggests that the painting
and the lettuccio were meant as an ensemble, and that the scene
depicted in the Primavera may have complemented the scenes
on the cassone, emphasizing the lessons on the need for order,
stability, and survival of the family. In Florence, images of
ancient history and contemporaryItalian literaturebegan to be
elevated from the surface of cassoni and other furnishings to
large scale panels during the decade of the 1470s, when artists
such as Pollaiuoloand Botticelli initiatedthe use of these themes
in painting.4"
A final lesson conveyed to the bride by the Primavera was
that procreationwas the main purpose of marriage. During the
Middle Ages and the Renaissancesexualintercoursewas official-
ly viewed as only for procreativepurposes, a means of producing
heirs. This notion originatedin theologicalwritingsthat advocat-
ed marriageas a cure for fornicationand described sexual inter-
course as a sin unless performed with breeding in mind. Saint
Augustine asserted these principles in the fifth century.4' That
his ideas remained in full force during the Middle Ages is evi-
denced in the writings of men like Peter Lombard and Saint
Thomas Aquinas, both of whom viewed sexual intercourse for
0
any reason other than
begetting children as a sin
worse than fornication,
42
incest, and adultery.
During the Renaissance,
Barbarowrote that
the union of man and wife
was first invented, and
ought to be esteemed espe-
cially, for the purpose of
procreation.... We should
indulge in sexual inter-
course not for pleasure but
only for the purpose of
procreating offspring.4:'
Similarly, Leon Battista
Alberti wrote in Della
Famiglia
Famiglia that the
(1432-34) that
(1432-34) the
Fig. 3. Apollonio di Giovanni, Raope of the Sabine Women (fragment),
object of marriage is to (early-mid 15th c.), 38.8 x 61.7 cm. Nlati onal Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh.
have children.4 He be-
lieved that in choosing a wife, a man must look for not only
virtue and good habits but also the ability to bear strong and
healthychildren. "Asfor physicalbeauty,"he wrote,
we should not only take pleasure in comeliness, charm and ele-
gance, but should try to have in our house a wife well-built for
bearing children and strong of body to insure that they will be
born strong and robust. "
Since Florentine noble wives were obligated to produce large
numbersof healthy descendantsin order to ensure the continua-
tion of the family,46 it was important that they be "well-built."
This message was provided for Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco'sbride
in the Primavera. As Charles Dempsey has observed, there is a
connection between Venus, the central figure in this work, and
Columella's De re nrstica.4 In De re rustica, Venus, assisted by
Cupid, presides over the spring mating rituals. As Columella
describes it:
Now's the time when all the world is mating...the spirit of the
world in Venus's revel joins and, headlong urged by Cupid's
goads, itself its progeny embraces and with teeming offspring
fills...hence even the whole wide world is celebrating
spring...till Venus, satiated, impregnates their fruitful mem-
bers...and everfills the world with new offspring.4"
The protagonists in the Primavera clearly engage in a cele-
bration of spring similar to the one described by Columella.
That Venus in the Primzavera is depicted as Columella's god-
dess of fertility is indicated by her central position, the
emphasis on her abdominal area, and the fruitful garden
where the scene takes place. Flora can be interpreted in a
similar manner. In Ovid's Fasti she exclaims: "I was the first
to scatter new seeds among the countless peoples." (Fasti, V:
221-22) In the Primavera she scatters flowers while Mercury
raises his caduceus and stirs the clouds to ensure the fertility
of the garden. Flora's abdomen is accentuated, like that of
Venus, to emphasize her potential fecundity. Tamed and
domesticated, Flora is explicitly contrasted with the wild and
animal-like Chloris. Her smile shows her satisfaction not only
with her new status as a bride but also with the prospect of
WOMAN'S ARTJOURNAL FALL1991/WINTER 1992
i motherhood, the primary
.....
role of the wife in mar-
riage. The Madonna and
Child displayed in the
same room as the
Primavera served to
emphasize this point by
representing the perfect
^ example of Christian
motherhood.
Gombrich suggests a
relationbetween Botticelli's
Primavera and a letter
written to Lorenzo di
Pierfrancesco by his tutor
Marsilio Ficino, in which
Ficino described Mercury
as Reason and Venus as
Humanitas.4" He advised
young Lorenzo:
Your Luna the continu-
ous motion of your soul and body-should avoid the excessive
speed of Mars and the tardiness of Saturn.... Furthermore, this
Luna within you should continuously behold the Sun, that is
God Himself...for you must honor Him above all things.... She
should also direct her gaze on Mercury, that is on good counsel,
reason and knowledge, for nothing should be undertaken with-
out consulting the wise, nor should anything be said or done for
which no plausible reason can be adduced.... Finally, he should
fix her eyes on Venus herself, that is to say on Humanity.... For
Humanity herself is a nymph of excellent comeliness, born in
heaven and more than others beloved by God all highest.'.
For Gombrich, Ficino's letter to Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco
inspired Botticelli to create the Primavera, and the scene depict-
ed was meant as Ficino's visual lesson for his young pupil.
However, while Ficino provided the groom with a humanist les-
son, at the same time lessons for the bride on the subjects of
chastity, submission, and procreation were supplied through
Botticelli'spaintings. These lessons may also have been directed
to the groom as enforcer of his wife's expected behavior.
In Florence, as elsewhere in Renaissance Italy, noblemen
functioned in the public arena and were inculcated with social
virtues. Noblewomen, on the other hand, though given educa-
tional opportunities,were in general confined to the home and
expected to behave as chaste wives and virtuous mothers.5'
Works of art such as the Primavera, while embodying
Neoplatonic thought and reflecting the intellectual activities of
the Medici circle, also served as visual tools to provide women
with models of expected behavior and, at the same time, as
remindersof their lesser role in society. ?
NOTES
An earlier version of this paper was delivered at the 1989 Frick Collection-
Institute of Fine Arts Symposium in New York. I am grateful to Rona Goffen
for her support and for introducing me to a new approach to art history.
1. Umberto Baldini, Pritmavera: The Restoration of Botticelli's
lM\asterpiece,Mary Fitton, trans. (New York: Abrams, 1986), 12, 27-28.
2. E. H. Gombrich, "Botticelli's Mythologies: A Study in the
Neoplatonic Symbolism of His Circle," Joutrnal of the XVarbtlrg and
Courtauldl Institutes (1945), 7-60. Gombrich's theory is discussed later in
greater detail.
 3. Baldini,Primavera,90, describedthe Primaveraas follows:"Zephyr, 27. Ibid.,23-25.
personifyinghumanlove and the life-givingpowerof nature,seizes Chloris, 28. Woodward, "VittorinodaFeltre,"247-48.
who is transformedinto Flora. Venus,with the aidof Eros/Cupid,both kin- 29. ElizabethWard Swain,"MyExcellent and Most SingularLord:
dles this carnallove and guidesit, througha processof intellectualsublima- Marriagein a Noble Familyof Fifteenth-Century Italy,"Journalof Medieval
tion (the Graces),towardthe goalof contemplation(Mercury)." andRenaissance Studies(1986),171.
4. Mirella Levi D'Ancona, Botticelli's Primavera: A Botanical 30. Lorenzodi Pierfrancesco andhisbrother,Giovanni, cameunderthe cus-
InterpretationIncludingAstrology,Alchemyand the Medici (Florence: tody of Lorenzothe Magnificentin 1476 upon the death of their father,
OlschkiEditore,1983),21. Pierfrancesco.
5. PaulBarolsky,"Botticelli'sPrimaveraand the Traditionof Dante," 31. Lightbown, 72. For background
"Botticelli," information on the rivalry
Konsthistorisk Tidskrift,I (1983),1-6. betweenthe Mediciandthe PopeandKingof Naples,see HaroldActon,The
6. AbyWarburg,"SandroBotticelli'sGeburtder Venusund Fruhling," PazziConspiracy:ThePlotAgainsttheMedici(London:ThamesandHudson,
in GesammelteShriften(Nendeln-Lchtenstein,1969),32. 1979).
7. Charles Dempsey, "MercuriusVer: The Sources of Botticelli's 32. Ovid,Fasti,V, 195-212.See alsoLightbown, 79.
"Botticelli,"
Primavera," Journalof the Warburgand CourtauldInstitutes(1968),251-73. 33. D' Ancona,"Botticelli'sPrimavera,"44.
8. The weddingtookplace in May1482. RonaldLightbown,Botticelli: 34. MarcoAntonioAltieri,Li Nuptiali,EnricoNarducci,ed. (Rome,1873),
Lifeand Work,I (Berkeley:Universityof California,1978),72, wasthe first 73: "Siche representandose in ogneaptonuptialela memoriadel quelraptode
to suggest that Botticelli'sPrimaverawas painted on the occasionof this Sabine."
wedding,a suggestionthat has been acceptedby severalscholarsincluding 35. Ibid.,93. Accordingto legend,the Sabineswere invitedby Romulus,
Barolsky,"Botticelli'sPrimavera,"2, and D'Ancona,Botticelli'sPrimavera, the founderof Rome,to a festivalin the new settlement.Romuluswantedto
11-14. providewivesforhis men so theycouldpopulatethe city. Duringthe celebra-
9. Barolsky,"Botticelli's Primavera," 2. tion the Sabinewomenwere seizedandtheirmen drivenaway. Warensued
10. Ibid.,4. betweenthe two nations,andit was not untilthe Sabinewomenplacedthem-
11. WebsterSmith, "Onthe OriginalLocationof the Primavera,"Art selvesbetweenthe two armiesthat peace was finallyachieved. Both groups
Bulletin (March 1975), 31-39. John Shearman,who had conducted an cameto anagreementandassentedto thejointruleof Romulusandthe Kingof
archivalstudysimilarto Smith's,publishedthe resultsof his researchin the the Sabines. See Livy,Ab UrbeCondita,I, ChaptersIX-XIII,especiallyIX,
same year. See his "TheCollectionof the YoungerBranchof the Medici," lines7-16andXIII,lines1-5.
BurlingtonMagazine(January1975),12-27. 36. Altieri,"LiNuptiali,"52. For a comprehensiveinterpretationof Li
12. Smith, "On the Original Location,"32-35, and Shearman,"The Nuptiali see Christiane Klapisch-Zuber,Women,Family, and Ritual in
Collections,"18. RenaissanceItaly, LydiaCochrane,trans.(Chicago: Universityof Chicago,
13. For a discussionon the issue of chastity,see JoanKelly-Gadol,"Did 1985),247-60.
WomenHave a Renaissance?," in BecomingVisible: Womenin European 37. For otherexamplessee PaulSchrubing, Cassoni(Leipzig,1915),Table
History, Renate Bridenthaland ClaudiaKoonz,eds. (Boston: Houghton XI, No. 75; TableLXIV,No. 280;TableLXXXVIII, No. 377; TableCX, No.
Mifflin,1977),152-61. 466;andTableCXI,No. 476.
14. Shearman, "TheCollections," 19,andLightbown, I, 83-85.
"Botticelli," 38. DianeOwenHughes,"Representing the Family:PortraitsandPurposes
15. Shearman, 'TheCollections," 18,andSmith,"OntheOriginal Location," 36. in Moder Italy,"Journalof Interdisciplinary History (Summer 1986),12. For
16. Aeneid,XIpassim,especially508,582-84,and651. furtherinterpretations of imageson cassonisee Ellen Callmann,Apolloniodi
17. GiovanniBoccaccio,De mulieribus claris,XXXIX. Giovanni(Oxford:OxfordUniversity,1974),39-51;Callmann,"TheGrowing
18. FrancescoBarbaro,"OnWifelyDuties,"BenjaminG. Kohl,trans.,in Threatto MaritalBliss as Seen in Fifteenth-Century FlorentinePaintings,"
TheEarlyRepublic:ItalianHumanistson Government and Society,Benjamin Studiesin Iconography(1979),73-92;and BruciaWitthoft,"Marriage Rituals
G. Kohland RonaldG. Witt,eds. (Philadelphia:Universityof Pennsylvania, andMarriage Chestsin Quattrocento Florence,"Artibuset Historiae,5 (1982),
1978),202. 43-59.
19. Seneca, MoralEssays, John W. Basore, trans. (Cambridge,Mass: 39. Shearman,"TheCollections,"18. There is no reasonto doubt that
Harvard University, 1935),15. the cassonewas decorated,since embellishingsuch furnishingswith either
20. Lightbown, 75-77.
"Botticelli," historicalor literaryscenes was commonpracticeduringthe Quattrocento.
21. Chastitywasnotconsideredtaintedby marriage, as suggestedby the fol- The high value assignedto this piece in the 1499 inventorywould seem to
lowingpassagein Barbaro, "OnWifelyDuties": confirmthis.
40. Callmann,"Apolloniodi Giovanni," 23-24, 39.
I wishthatshe will curbherselfso thatshe will be...chastein thatsortof tem- 41. Vern L. Bullough, Sexual Variancein Society and History (New
perancefromwhichchastityis derived.It wouldbe conduciveto achievingthis York:Wiley,1976),372.
resultif,fromthe verybeginning,husbandswouldaccustomthemselves to serv- 42. Ibid.,379-80.
ing as helpersof necessityratherthanpassion. Andwivesshouldbearthem- 43. Barbaro,"OnWifelyDuties,"212.
selveswithdecorumandmodestyin theirmarriedlifeso thatbothaffectionand 44. Guido A. Guarino,ed., The Albertis of Florence: Leon Battista
moderation willaccompany theirlovemaking. (213) Alberti's"DellaFamiglia"(Lewisburg,Penn.: Bucknell,1971),125.
45. Ibid.,122.
22. Ibid.,202. 46. Swain,"MyExcellentand MostSingularLord,"194.
23. MelindaK. Blade,Educationof ItalianRenaissanceWomen(Mes- 47. Dempsey,"Mercurius ver,"261-62.
quite,Tex.:Ide House,1983),14-21. 48. Quotedin ibid.
24. WilliamHarrisonWoodward, Vittorinoda Feltreand OtherHumanist 49. Gombrich,"Botticelli'sMythologies," 16-17.
Educators,2d. ed. (New York:ColumbiaUniversityTeachersCollege,1963), 50. Quotedin ibid.
182-84. 51. Kelly-Gadol,"DidWomenHavea Renaissance?," 154.
25. Blade,"Education," 31.
26. Quotedin ShirleyNelsonKersey,Classicsin the Educationof Girls Lilian Zirpolo is a doctoral candidate in art history at Rutgers
andWomen(Metuchen,N.J.: Scarecrow, 1981),20-27. University.