The astronomical garden of Venus and Mars-NG915: the pivotal role of Astronomy in dating and deciphering Botticelli's masterpiece

TL;DR

This paper explores how astronomical knowledge influenced Botticelli's 'Venus and Mars,' enabling precise dating and interpretation of the artwork's mythological and historical context, and proposes a similar dating method for 'Primavera.'

Contribution

It introduces a novel approach using astronomical ephemerides to date and interpret Botticelli's paintings, linking astronomy, mythology, and historical facts.

Findings

Astronomical data helps date the painting accurately.

Correlation between astronomical phenomena and artistic elements.

Proposed astronomical dating for 'Primavera'.

Abstract

This essay demonstrates the key role of Astronomy in Botticelli's "Venus and Mars-NG915" painting, to date only very partially understood. Worthwhile coincidences among the principles of the Ficinian philosophy, the historical characters involved and the compositional elements of the painting, show how the astronomical knowledge of that time strongly influenced this masterpiece. First, Astronomy provides its precise dating since the artist used the astronomical ephemerides of his time, albeit preserving a mythological meaning, and a clue for Botticelli's signature. Second, it allows the correlation among Botticelli's creative intention, the historical facts and the astronomical phenomena such as the heliacal rising of the planet Venus in conjunction with the Aquarius constellation dating back to the earliest representations of Venus in Mesopotamian culture. This work not only bears a significant value for the history of science and art, but, in the current era of three-dimensional mapping of billion stars about to be delivered by Gaia, states the role of astronomical heritage in Western culture. Finally, following the same method, a precise astronomical dating for the famous Primavera painting is suggested.