A House for Sandro Botticelli

A HOUSE FOR SANDRO BOTTICELLI

Would Spring still be the same if Botticelli didn’t paint his “Primavera…?”

And would the meaning of Eros still be equally multi-faced if we never contemplated the lyrical “The Birth of Venus” by the same painter…?

What is the relationship between Nature and Art…? Do we see art through the eyes of Nature or vice versa (or both)...?!?

We think of the Renaissance as that time when man finally broke away from the “man-dwarfing” (as we are told) of the Middle Ages, born anew on the foundations of a newly regained confidence, based mainly on reason (or so).

But the scandal for the intelligence that the seashell represents, albeit a magnificently beautiful “scandal,” is present, in giant form, in the above mentioned great painting by Botticelli.

Eros, of course, vulva, but also the “labyrinth of the world.”

This is how we see this large seashell in “The Birth of Venus.”

But was it not Botticelli the adoring admirer of Dante, illustrating in a rich, complex series, the Inferno, the Purgatory and the Paradise…?

And was it not, Dante, the great “repository” of Medieval mentality…?!?

Then, here, in Botticelli, we have the splendid meeting between the rebirth the Renaissance meant and the “looking backwards” that such adoring gestures towards Dante might be considered representing.

Beautiful conjunction…!

We ask you to imagine A HOUSE FOR SANDRO BOTTICELLI, now that we are approaching 500 years since his death.

How would such a house look like…?

Would it have that melodious sinuousness that seems to be uniquely his in Renaissance art…? Would it celebrate sensuousness while somehow, somewhere, the stringent austerity of Savonarola (who apparently inspired Botticelli) seems to insinuate itself, subversively…?

How would it be…?

And what would be its relevance for us, proud (but perhaps exhausted) heirs of that very revolution that made Copernicus (twenty eight years younger than Botticelli) its unmoving sun…?!?!?

Would Dante + Copernicus make sense to us, today, through Sandro Botticelli…?

Please send us ANY work, ANY size and ANY format that responds to the theme to: [email protected]. We will publish all the works received on our website: www.icarch.net. There is an entry fee of 30E (15E for students) payable through the registration section of our website. This entry fee entitles one to take part in another competition that we launch, without paying another fee. Those who receive a merit award will be invited to participate in any other two competitions, without paying an entry fee, while the first prize winners will be able to do this three times. As an experiment, we propose that the jury be composed of the competitors themselves. Thus, the same people who enter the competition will also judge it, by a voting system that allows one to evaluate all the works received, except his / her own. The deadline for registration is April 17th, 2010, while the deadline for submitting your work is May 17th, 2010 (exactly 500 years since Botticelli’s death). If you have any questions pertaining to this competition please feel free to contact us.

Thank you,

ICARCH Gallery