Sandro Botticelli

Florence

The nickname "Botticelli" means "little barrel".

💡 Did you know? The nickname „Botticelli“ (little barrel) actually came from his elder brother.

Renaissance

Botticelli was one of the leading painters of the early Florentine Renaissance in the Medici circle.

💡 Did you know? His graceful linear style soon seemed old-fashioned once Leonardo and Michelangelo arose.

the Medici

The Medici banking family sponsored Botticelli and commissioned many of his works.

💡 Did you know? In the „Adoration of the Magi“ Botticelli immortalised several Medici and, at far right, himself.

ancient mythology

„The Birth of Venus“ and „Primavera“ show ancient gods life-size: unusual for such a deeply Christian age.

💡 Did you know? "The Birth of Venus" was among the first to show a life-size nude woman as an emblem of beauty.

Savonarola

Savonarola condemned luxury and worldly art.

💡 Did you know? The fire-and-brimstone preacher Savonarola burned „vanities“ in Florence in 1497: Botticelli is said to have thrown his own paintings into the flames.

19th century

He died in 1510 and was long almost forgotten.

💡 Did you know? It was the English Pre-Raphaelites who made Botticelli popular again in the Victorian 19th century.

The Birth of Venus

Around 1485: the goddess of love rises from the sea on a shell.

💡 Did you know? Venus is blown ashore on a shell: one of the first large-scale nudes since antiquity.

Primavera

Around 1480: an enigmatic dance of mythological figures (Spring).

💡 Did you know? Across „Primavera“ are scattered more than 500 botanically accurate plants, many in bloom: an eternal spring.

Venus and Mars

Painted around 1485.

💡 Did you know? Little fauns play with the sleeping war god's weapons: Love (Venus) has conquered War (Mars).

Adoration of the Magi

Painted around 1475.

💡 Did you know? Botticelli painted the Medici as the Magi and placed himself at far right, looking out at the viewer.

Madonna of the Magnificat

Painted around 1483.

💡 Did you know? The round format (tondo) was especially popular for images of the Madonna in Renaissance Florence.

Calumny of Apelles

Painted around 1497.

💡 Did you know? In it Botticelli reconstructed a lost ancient painting solely from a written description.

Pallas and the Centaur

Painted around 1482.

💡 Did you know? The goddess of wisdom tames the wild centaur: an emblem of reason over impulse.

The Trials of Moses

Painted around 1481.

💡 Did you know? Botticelli was among the painters who decorated the walls of the Sistine Chapel in 1481/82: before Michelangelo's ceiling.

Idealized Portrait of a Lady (Portrait of Simonetta Vespucci as Nymph)

Painted around 1482.

💡 Did you know? Simonetta Vespucci was reckoned the most beautiful woman in Florence; Botticelli reportedly wished to be buried beside her.

The Mystical Nativity

Painted around 1500.

💡 Did you know? It is Botticelli's only signed and dated work: made under the impression of Savonarola's dark sermons.

Temptations of Christ

Painted around 1480.

💡 Did you know? This fresco too Botticelli created on the walls of the Sistine Chapel.

Punishment of the Rebels

Painted around 1481.

💡 Did you know? In the background Botticelli painted the Roman Arch of Constantine: a reference to papal authority.

Sandro Botticelli

Sandro Botticelli (c. 1445 to 1510) was an Italian painter of the early Florentine Renaissance. Works like „The Birth of Venus“ are icons of art history.

💡 Did you know? After his death Botticelli was nearly forgotten for some 400 years: only the 19th century rediscovered him.