Many paintings in the Uffizi in Florence feature the fruit and seeds  of the Pomegranate.

Why is this?  I thought it would be interesting to consider some of the many interpretations of this fruit.

According to Greek Myths the Pomegranate Tree sprung from the blood of baby Baccus after he was “killed” and eaten down to his heart by the Titans.  However as he was later revived, or resurrected, by Rhea ,  the mother of Jupiter – the Pomegranate can thus be viewed as a symbol of resurrection -a  mix of myth and the Christian promise.

This seems a complex, and some might say, heretical, idea – adult  Baccus’ behaviour as the God of Wine hardly being an ideal role model for the baby Jesus but such a combination was unlikely to worry the young Botticelli , whose most popular artworks, the Birth of Venus and The Primevera,  are based on Greek mythology and were encouraged by the Humanist ideals of the ruling family of Florence – the Medici.

In later life under the influence of  Domenican Fra Girolamo Savonarola Botticelli claimed to regret his less divine inspiration and pursued much more sombre Christian images  – and as a result of losing his key patrons he died practically a pauper with his works hidden or forgotten until they themselves had a renaissance in the Victorian era

In the famous painting of the Madonna of the Magnificat shown above Mary has given her child a pomegranate,which he has accepted with a look of wonder – and again in the slightly later painting below. In both paintings the accompanying group are believed to be portraits of the children of Lorenzo di Medici – including the future Pope Leo X.

Another double meaning of the pomegranate fruit is that when in her hand it represents the chastity of the Virgin Mary – at the same time as being a recognised representation of Fertility.

The reason it is seen to represent fertility is due to it’s hard outer skin enclosing many red  seeds – as a result of this connection it is often seen as an attribute of Venus , who is claimed to have planted it on the Island of Cyprus after having been blown there in her cockle shell – The fruit symbolised female fertility and the marital loss of virginity with the consummation of marriage.

The image that I remember best is that of Prosperina (aka Persephone) – stolen from her mother Ceres (aka Demeter) and dragged into the underworld by Pluto God of Hades.  Demeter, goddess of agriculture through taking away the good weather, ensured that people were hungry and had nearly negotiated her daughters permanent release -until Prosperina couldn’t resist eating six seeds of a pomegranate! Giving into  her hunger allowing Hades to only let her go back home for six months of the year – during which time Demeter grieved and created winter and only allowed the warmth back when she got her daughter back in the summer months.

Pre Raphaelite brother Dante Gabriel Rossetti painted this image below of Prosperina.

The other interpretation of this outwardly unappetising looking fruit is a sense of prosperity – and unexpected inner richness – indeed one of the best descriptions of a pomegranate I ever heard was from a seven year old boy during a reading lesson. I was so delighted when he told me that it was a fruit ” that tasted bad on the outside but once you open it – it is full of rubies!!”

Portraits were painted of rich people who gave to the poor showing pomagranates to show their benevolence – and perhaps fertility

Another fan of the pomegranate was the Emperor Maximilian 1 who chose it as his emblem to symbolise the Union of many – peoples and states – under a single authority.

He certainly lived up to that objective – already archduke of Austria, German king, and Holy Roman emperor by the time he died in 1519 , Maximilian 1  had added vast  tracts of land to the traditional Austrian holdings,  the Netherlands through his own marriage, Hungary and Bohemia through various treaties and military pressure, and Spain and the Spanish empire through the marriage of his son Philip.

No wonder he is holding such a large pomegranate!