Stories of Pomegranates: Botticelli
- D
- May 17, 2020
- 6 min read
In this post, I’d like to talk about the symbolism of pomegranates in art, religion and mythology and the use of this fruit in a couple of paintings by Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi, better known as Sandro Botticelli. We’ll start with the work of the master himself.
As an established artist, Botticelli was particularly successful with depictions of the Virgin in the tondo format. To this day, his tondi still offer the best impression of his workshop’s achievements.
In 1481 Botticelli created Madonna del Magnificat, in which the figures appear as if reflected in a convex mirror, against a peaceful river landscape in the distance. The work takes its title from the beginning of the prayer indicated by the Christ Child on the right-hand page of the open book: Magnificat anima mea. These are the first words of the canticle sung by Mary in praise of the Lord on her visit to Elizabeth, the wife of Zacchariah, who is expecting a child (see Gospel of St Luke, 1:46-55). There may be an allusion to the same episode on the left-hand page of the book, telling us about Zacchariah’s prophecy on the birth of his son, John the Baptist (Luke, 1:76:79), who was to be the patron saint of Florence.
The Virgin, crowned by two angels, is depicted as the Queen of Heaven. With her flowing tresses and the refined ornament provided by the shawl, whose colourful stripes are interspersed with strands of gold, the Virgin is almost nymph-like in character.
Entirely in keeping with the Neoplatonic conception of the circle as the ideal geometric form, the Virgin Mary’s ultimate grace is also established by the painting’s elegant circular shape. With apparent effortlessness, Botticelli introduced an iconographically complex system of interrelationships between the figures. The enthroned Madonna has been shifted away from the pictorial centre towards the right and rotated into a three-quarter view. As a result, her seated pose, with her upper body leaning slightly forward, and the position of her left hand fit perfectly but casually into the right-hand half of the circle. The angels are more active but they still masterfully emphasise and stabilise the round format. They assist the Virgin, who, mindful of the Passion, has humbly undertaken to record the Magnificat, her hymn in praise of God. The text from the Gospel of St Luke also addresses her future elevation, symbolised in the painting by her crown. With the inner pictorial stone window frame and the staggered arrangement of the figures in front of it, the artist also takes the round format into account spatially. Thanks to the illusion of convexity, the holy figures seem to push their way forward into the world of the viewer.
Sandro Botticelli, “Madonna del Magnificat”, tempera, 1481
In the Madonna della Melagrana the six curly-haired angels accompanying the Virgin are arranged in a row behind a garland of roses. This tondo was executed around 1487. As is revealed by the original frame, which features golden lilies on a blue background, it was produced for a public location: it originally hung in the audience chamber of a court of law in the Palazzo Vecchio. Like nearly all of Botticelli’s depictions of the Virgin and Child, this painting – named after the symbolic pomegranate (melagrana) at the centre of the composition and present in the Madonna del Magnificat as well –takes as its theme the Virgin Mary’s foreknowledge of her son’s later martyrdom.
Sandro Botticelli, ‘Madonna della Melagrana”, tempera on panel, 1487
(I apologise for the quality of this painting. I took it myself on a busy day at the Uffizi Gallery)
Before I develop however on the symbolism and role of this fruit in the painting I’d like to discuss the depiction of the Virgin Mary a bit more here.
Slightly tilted, with its curly, golden-blond hair delicately covered by a transparent veil and finely woven shawl, this head exemplifies the Botticelli workshop’s preferred type for the Virgin Mary. The master modelled her demeanour precisely after the same ideals of beauty that guided him in the creation of his heathen goddesses. This Madonna and the Venus in the Birth of Venus are as alike as identical twins. Their resemblance may seem surprising to us today, but for the artist and the contemporary viewers of his work, it was entirely understandable. Due to the popular adulation of the Virgin, people were well acquainted with the concepts of associating Mary with the beautiful bride in the Song of Solomon or of considering her as the new Venus. As the epitome of divine beauty, the Virgin’s depiction was art’s most noble task. Her representation had to be the pinnacle of feminine loveliness and was therefore increasingly adapted to contemporary literary ideals of female beauty. Motifs of Petrarchan poetry finding their way into the praise of the Virgin as well as the Neoplatonic conviction that beauty acted as an intermediary between mankind and the divine contributed to this development.
The Madonna and Venus, side by side
The pomegranate held by mother and child is a reminder of the Fall of Man. As an ancient symbol of immortality, it also announces salvation, its colour alluding to the Passion of Christ.
If we think about this iconographic context, the Virgin’s quiet, meditative sadness makes sense. It is typical of Botticelli’s depictions of the Virgin that they address their viewer’s emotions, especially through her poignant pensiveness. In the case of the Madonna della Melagrana, this mood appears to have been given special emphasis, and it has been even further highlighted by the facial expressions of the six angels.
The pomegranate was a fruit popular in the Middle Ages and common in the symbolism, both pagan and Christian, of medieval and earlier times. It seems to have been in existence ever since the Earth was created. Some scholars of antiquity actually assume that the pomegranate was the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden and that it was the fruit of this tree rather than the apple with which Eve tempted Adam.
The pomegranate or Punica grantum is native throughout most of the Orient and the Mediterranean regions but because of its long history, it is difficult to establish its actual origins. The botanical name Punica is derived from the Latin punicus, which means scarlet or red but also refers to the Punic Wars. The Romans called it the Punic apple as it came from Carthage. Other early names were Malum punicum (apple of Carthage) and Lybian or Carthaginian apple. ‘Pomegranate’ comes from the Latin pomum, meaning fruit. The specific name granatum derives from its many hard seeds.
Having been brought from Carthage by Roman soldiers, it was later introduced into Southern Europe and Spain. Granada’s coat of arms is a small branch with an open pomegranate and the province actually took its name from the fruit. The pomegranate was introduced to England through Henry VIII’s first wife, Catherine of Aragon, who had it as her emblem. In one of the celebrations held to honour their marriage, a bank of roses and pomegranates was planted to symbolise the union between England and Spain. Shakespeare occasionally mentions the pomegranate. An example could be Romeo and Juliet, where one of the lines reads: ‘The nightingale sings on yon pomegranate tree.’
The pomegranate appears in Hebrew as well and the word for it is rimmon. It is referred to many times in the Old Testament where pomegranates are usually associated with the fruitfulness of the land, along with grapes, figs, olives, barley and wheat, the riches Moses pledged to his people when he led them out of Egypt to the promised land. To this day pomegranates are used in some Jewish ceremonies.
Already in those very early times, the flowers and fruit of the pomegranate served as designs in architecture, weaving and embroidery. The hem of the sacred robe of Aaron, older brother of Moses and first High Priest of Israel, was embroidered with blue, purple and scarlet pomegranates alternating with golden bells which were probably modelled after the shape of the pomegranate flowers. Garments with similar motifs are said to have been worn by ancient Persian kings. Pomegranates and lilies representations were carved on the capitals of King Solomon’s temple in Jerusalem. They also appear frequently in old Assyrian and Egyptian monuments and on Pompeiian wall paintings.
Many mythological legends are associated with the pomegranate. One is the well-known Greek myth of Persephone who was forced to spend a third of each year in the Underworld because she had eaten the seeds of the pomegranate offered to her by Hades. However, a compromise was made and he kept her for only half the year. Each spring he would release her to spend the other half with her grieving mother Demeter. This way the mortal men got back the beauty of springtime and the pomegranate became the symbol of rebirth and the awakening of nature.
In Christian art, the pomegranate, often split and showing the seeds, was interpreted as a symbol of fertility, immortality and resurrection. The infant Jesus is frequently shown in paintings and sculpture presenting the pomegranate to his mother or holding it while in her arms, like in Botticelli’s work, anticipating Jesus’ suffering and his Resurrection. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, pomegranate seeds may be used in kolyva, a type of cake used in memorial services, symbolising the sweetness of the Kingdom of God.
According to Christian beliefs, at the end of time, there is only one king who will rule the nations forever, and that is Jesus. Interestingly, it is said that the crowns worn by kings were inspired by the design of the calyx on the pomegranate…
Sources:
Gloria Fossi, Uffizi, The Official Guide, 1999
Hildegard Schneider, On the Pomegranate, www.jastor.org.
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