Sandro Botticelli

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Sandro Botticelli

Alleged self-portrait of Botticelli, in his Adoration of the Magi. Uffizi, Florence.
Birth name Alessandro di Mariano Filipepi
Born March 1, 1444(1444-03-01) or 1445
Florence, Italy
Died May 17, 1510 (aged 66)
Nationality Italian
Training Florentine school
Movement Renaissance
Famous works Primavera, 1478
The Birth of Venus, 1486

Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi, better known as Sandro Botticelli ("little barrels"; March 1, 1444/45 – May 17, 1510)[1] was an Italian painter of the Florentine school during the Early Renaissance (Quattrocento). Less than a hundred years later, this movement, under the patronage of Lorenzo de' Medici, was characterized by Giorgio Vasari as a "golden age", a thought, suitably enough, he expressed at the head of his Vita of Botticelli. His posthumous reputation suffered until the late 19th century; since then his work has been seen to represent the linear grace of Early Renaissance painting, and The Birth of Venus and Primavera rank now among the most familiar masterpieces of Florentine art.

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Details of Botticelli's life are sparse, but we know that he did not become an apprentice until he was about fourteen years old, which would indicate that he received a fuller education than did other Renaissance artists. Vasari reported that he was initially trained as a goldsmith by his brother Antonio. He then was apprenticed to Fra Filippo Lippi; many of his early works have been attributed to the elder master, and attributions continue to be uncertain. Influenced also by the monumentality of Masaccio's painting, it was from Lippi that Botticelli learned a more intimate and detailed manner. During this time, Botticelli could have traveled to Hungary, participating in the creation of the recently discovered fresco in Esztergom, ordered in the workshop of Fra Filippo Lippi by János Vitéz, a Hungarian bishop.

By 1470 Botticelli had his own workshop. Even at this early date his work was characterized by a conception of the figure as if seen in low relief, drawn with clear contours, and minimizing strong contrasts of light and shadow which would indicate fully modeled forms.

The masterworks Primavera (c. 1478) and The Birth of Venus (c. 1485) were both seen by Vasari at the villa of Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de' Medici at Castello in the mid-16th century, and until recently it was assumed that both works were painted specifically for the villa. Recent scholarship suggests otherwise: the Primavera was painted for Lorenzo's townhouse in Florence, and The Birth of Venus was commissioned by someone else for a different site. By 1499 both had been installed at Castello.[2]

In these works the influence of Gothic realism is tempered by Botticelli's study of the antique. But if the painterly means may be understood, the subjects themselves remain fascinating for their ambiguity. The complex meanings of these paintings continue to receive scholarly attention, mainly focusing on the poetry and philosophy of humanists who were the artist's contemporaries. The works do not illustrate particular texts; rather, each relies upon several texts for its significance. Of their beauty, characterized by Vasari as exemplifying "grace", and by John Ruskin as possessing linear rhythm, there can be no doubt.

Primavera (1478): icon of the springtime renewal of the Florentine Renaissance, also at the summer palazzo of Pierfrancesco de' Medici, as a companion piece to the Birth of Venus and Pallas and the Centaur. Left to right: Mercury, the Three Graces, Venus, Flora, Chloris, Zephyrus.
Primavera (1478): icon of the springtime renewal of the Florentine Renaissance, also at the summer palazzo of Pierfrancesco de' Medici, as a companion piece to the Birth of Venus and Pallas and the Centaur. Left to right: Mercury, the Three Graces, Venus, Flora, Chloris, Zephyrus.

The Adoration of the Magi for Santa Maria Novella (c. 1475-1476, now at the Uffizi) contains the portraits of Cosimo de' Medici ("the finest of all that are now extant for its life and vigour"[3]), his grandson Giuliano de' Medici, and Cosimo's son Giovanni. The quality of the scene was hailed by Vasari as one of Botticelli's pinnacles.

In 1481, Pope Sixtus IV summoned Botticelli and other prominent Florentine and Umbrian artists to fresco the walls of the Sistine Chapel. The iconological program was the supremacy of the Papacy. Sandro's contribution was moderately successful. He returned to Florence, and "being of a sophistical turn of mind, he there wrote a commentary on a portion of Dante and illustrated the Inferno which he printed, spending much time over it, and this abstention from work led to serious disorders in his living." Thus Vasari characterized the first printed Dante (1481) with Botticelli's decorations; he could not imagine that the new art of printing might occupy an artist.

In the mid-1480s Botticelli worked on a major fresco cycle with Perugino, Ghirlandaio, and Filippino Lippi, for Lorenzo the Magnificent's villa near Volterra; in addition he painted many frescoes in Florentine churches.

In 1491 Botticelli served on a committee to decide upon a facade for the Florence Duomo. In 1502 he was accused of sodomy, though charges were later dropped. In 1504 he was a member of the committee appointed to decide where Michelangelo's David would be placed. His later work, especially as seen in a series on the life of St. Zenobius, witnessed a diminution of scale, expressively distorted figures, and a non-naturalistic use of color reminiscent of the work of Fra Angelico nearly a century earlier.

Venus and Mars, 1483.
Venus and Mars, 1483.

In later life, Botticelli was one of Savonarola's followers, though the full extent of Savonarola's influence is uncertain.[4][5] Botticelli biographer Ernst Steinman searched for the artist's psychological development through his Madonnas. In the deepening of insight and expression in the rendering of Mary's physiognomy, Steinman discerns proof of Savonarola's influence over Botticelli. This means that the biographer needed to alter the dates of a number of Madonnas to substantiate his theory; specifically, they are dated ten years later than before. Steinman disagrees with Vasari's assertion that Botticelli produced nothing after coming under the influence of Girolamo Savonarola. Steinman believes the spiritual and emotional Virgins rendered by Sandro follow directly from the teachings of the Dominican monk.

Earlier, Botticelli had painted an Assumption of the Virgin for Matteo Palmieri in a chapel at San Pietro Maggiore in which, it was rumored, both the patron who dictated the iconic scheme and the painter who painted it, were guilty of unidentified heresy, a delicate requirement in such a subject. The heretical notions seem to be gnostic in character:

By the side door of San Piero Maggiore he did a panel for Matteo Palmieri, with a large number of figures representing the Assumption of Our Lady with zones of patriarchs, prophets, apostles, evangelists, martyrs, confessors, doctors, virgins, and the orders of angels, the whole from a design given to him by Matteo, who was a worthy and educated man. He executed this work with the greatest mastery and diligence, introducing the portraits of Matteo and his wife on their knees. But although the great beauty of this work could find no other fault with it, said that Matteo and Sandro were guilty of grave heresy. Whether this be true or not, I cannot say. (Giorgio Vasari)

This is a common misconception based on a mistake by Vasari. The painting referred to here, now in the National Gallery in London, is by the artist Botticini. Vasari confused their similar sounding names.

The Birth of Venus, 1486. Uffizi, Florence.
The Birth of Venus, 1486. Uffizi, Florence.

Recently, one of four female figures on a fresco in the ruins of the Archbishop's workshop in the castle of Esztergom, Hungary, was recognized as possibly the first independent creation by Botticelli. The figures representing four cardinal virtues were ordered from the workshop of Fra Filippo Lippi by Johannes Vaillant of Zredna, then Archbishop of Hungary. The figure attributed to Botticelli — the temperance — has many traits of his later works.[6]

Portrait of a Man with a Medal of Cosimo the Elder, 1474.
Portrait of a Man with a Medal of Cosimo the Elder, 1474.

  1. ^ Sandro Botticelli NNDB.com
  2. ^ Smith, Webster: On the Original Location of the Primavera. [1] Retrieved on 2007-4-16.
  3. ^ Vasari, Lives
  4. ^ Lightbown, pages 238-253.
  5. ^ Return of a Forgotten Master, TIME
  6. ^ Possible Botticelli fresco found in Hungary, MSNBC, June 8, 2007

  • Knackfuss H., Monographs On Artists, VI. Botticelli by Ernst Steinman, Translated by Campbell Dodgson, New York, Lemcke & Huachner, 1901, Pg. 112.
  • New York Times, Life of Botticelli, November 19, 1904, Page BR783.
  • Da Vinci Declassified, 2006 TLC documentary
  • Ullman, H., Sandro Botticelli, 1893
  • Yashiro, Y., Sandro Botticelli and the Florentine Renaissance, 1929
  • Lightbown, R., Sandro Botticelli: Life and Work, 1989
  • The New Encyclopaedia Britannica, Macropaedia, Volume 2, 1991, Page 413-14.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

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Botticelli
Works Madonna and Child with an Angel (Botticelli) · Madonna and Child with an Angel · Madonna della Loggia · The Virgin and Child with Two Angels and the Young St. John the Baptist · The Annunciation · The Virgin and Child, St. John and an Angel Adoration of the Magi · Portrait of a Young Man · Madonna in Glory with Seraphim · Madonna of the Sea · Madonna of the Rosegarden (Madonna del Roseto) · Madonna and Child and Two Angels · Portrait of Esmeralda Brandini · Fortitude · Madonna and Child with Six Saints (Sant'Ambrogio Altarpiece) · Madonna and Child with an Angel · The Return of Judith to Bethulia · The Discovery of the Murder of Holofernes · Adoration of the Magi · Portrait of a Young Woman · Adoration of the Magi · St. Sebastian · Portrait of a Man with a Medal of Cosimo the Elder · Portrait of Giuliano de' Medici · Madonna and Child · Catherine of Alexandria · Nativity · Portrait of Giuliano de' Medici · The Birth of Christ · Portrait of Giuliano de' Medici · Madonna and Child with Eight Angels · St. Augustine · Madonna of the Magnificat (Madonna del Magnificat) · Madonna of the Book (Madonna del Libro)  · Portrait of a Young Woman · Portrait of a Young Woman · Annunciation  · St. Sixtus II  · Adoration of the Magi · Pallas and the Centaur · Venus and Mars · Portrait of a Young Man · Portrait of a Young Man · The Story of Nastagio degli Onesti · The Virgin and Child Enthroned (Bardi Altarpiece) · The Birth of Venus · Annunciation · Madonna Adoring the Child with Five Angels · Madonna of the Pomegranate (Madonna della Melagrana) · The Virgin and Child with Four Angels and Six Saints (Pala di San Barnaba) · Vision of St. Augustine · Christ in the Sepulcre · Salome with the Head of St. John the Baptist · Extraction of St. Ignatius' Heart · Cestello Annunciation · The Virgin Adoring the Child · Lamentation over the Dead Christ · Portrait of a Man · San Marco Altarpiece · St. Augustine in His Cell · Madonna and Child and the Young St John the Baptist · Portrait of Lorenzo di Ser Piero Lorenzi · The Virgin and Child with the Infant St. John the Baptist · Holy Trinity (Pala delle Convertite) · The Virgin and Child with Three Angels (Madonna del Padiglione) · Calumny of Apelles · Lamentation over the Dead Christ with Saints · Last Communion of St. Jerome · Portrait of Dante · The Story of Virginia · The Story of Lucretia · Crucifixion · Christ Crowned with Thorns · Transfiguration, St Jerome, St Augustine · Judith Leaving the Tent of Holofernes · Agony in the Garden · The Mystical Nativity · Baptism of St. Zenobius and His Appointment as Bishop · Three Miracles of St. Zenobius · Three Miracles of St. Zenobius · Last Miracle and the Death of St. Zenobius
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