In this artwork, how is the Interpretations discussed?
If given by Lorenzo de' Medici for his cousin's wedding, the two figures may represent the couple, aside from any other interpretations.  The lands of the bride's father, lord of Piombino on the Ligurian coast, and the island of Elba just off it, might be considered as part of Camilla's hunting grounds. The Italian for the balls in the Medici coat of arms is palle, and their supporters were sometimes called palleschi, which adds to the plausibility of political interpretations. Additionally, Pallas wears either olive branches (the tree of Pallas) or laurel sprays, entwined around her head, arms, breasts, and hips, held together by diamant rings similar to those forming the Medici sign; laurel was often used as a reference to the Medici and more specifically as a pun alluding to Lorenzo de' Medici.Pallas is a figure of reason, restraining the beast of our nature – also represented by the centaur – by the hair and looking at it with no fear. This has been connected with Sigmund Freud’s theory of the unconscious, and also to the Renaissance Neo-Platonist Marsilio Ficino's idea of the human soul as part animal and part human.   It has been interpreted as an allegory on the peace after the Pazzi wars.Frothingham posited that Botticelli’s idea for the painting could have come from an image in the Chronography of 354, a Roman calendar by Furius Dionysius Filocalus, the secretary to Pope Damasus I. The calendar depicts the personification of the city of Trier as a female warrior with a spear and shield holding the hair of a male figure with a bow and arrows by his feet. The male is smaller than the female and looks as if he is trying to escape her grasp. The two works are very similar and it is possible Botticelli got his idea for his painting from this image, having seen a copy.
John Rigby Hale interprets the work as affirming Lorenzo de' Medici's diplomatic encounter with King Ferdinand I of Naples and subsequent constitutional changes within the Florentine Republic which increased Lorenzo's power. Hale states:Pallas Taming the Centaur—wisdom overcoming a barbarian—symbolized, for 15th Century Florence, the boldness with which their own Lorenzo de' Medici had bested his enemy, the King of Naples, and the wisdom of his peace terms.
Trier Pazzi Renaissance Ferdinand I of Naples Lorenzo de' Medici centaur Furius Dionysius Filocalus Florence Elba coat of arms Piombino Pope Damasus I Roman Italian Chronography of 354 Sigmund Freud allegory John Rigby Hale laurel Camilla Marsilio Ficino Botticelli Renaissance Neo-Platonist Medici Centaur