Italian Early Renaissance Painter, 1445-1510
Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi, better known as Sandro Botticelli or Il Botticello ("The Little Barrel"; March 1, 1445 ?C May 17, 1510) 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.
Details of Botticelli's life are sparse, but we know that he became an apprentice when 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. Probably by 1462 he 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. As recently discovered, during this time, Botticelli could have traveled to Hungary, participating in the creation of a fresco in Esztergom, ordered in the workshop of Fra Filippo Lippi by Vitez J??nos, then archbishop of Hungary.
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.
1475 Tempera on panel, 54 x 36 cm Accademia Carrara, Bergamo Three similar portraits of Giuliano still exist. In contrast to the version in Washington, the portraits that are now in Bergamo and Berlin were probably not created until after Giuliano's assassination during the Pazzi conspiracy in 1478, when copies would have been ordered by friends and relatives as commemorative portraits. Artist: BOTTICELLI, Sandro Painting Title: Portrait of Giuliano de' Medici , 1451-1500 Painting Style: Italian , , portrait
1475 Tempera on panel, 54 x 36 cm Accademia Carrara, Bergamo Three similar portraits of Giuliano still exist. In contrast to the version in Washington, the portraits that are now in Bergamo and Berlin were probably not created until after Giuliano's assassination during the Pazzi conspiracy in 1478, when copies would have been ordered by friends and relatives as commemorative portraits. Artist: BOTTICELLI, Sandro Painting Title: Portrait of Giuliano de' Medici , 1451-1500 Painting Style: Italian , , portrait
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The Abyss of Hell
The Abyss of Hell
Painting ID:: 62946
1480s Coloured drawing on parchment, 320 x 470 mm Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Rome Dante imagined Hell as being an abyss with nine circles, which in turn divided into various rings. Botticelli's cross-section view of the underworld is drawn so finely and precisely that it is possible to trace the individual stops made by Dante and Virgil on their descent to the centre of the earth. Artist: BOTTICELLI, Sandro Painting Title: The Abyss of Hell , 1451-1500 Painting Style: Italian , graphics Type: other
1480s Coloured drawing on parchment, 320 x 470 mm Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Rome Dante imagined Hell as being an abyss with nine circles, which in turn divided into various rings. Botticelli's cross-section view of the underworld is drawn so finely and precisely that it is possible to trace the individual stops made by Dante and Virgil on their descent to the centre of the earth. Artist: BOTTICELLI, Sandro Painting Title: The Abyss of Hell , 1451-1500 Painting Style: Italian , graphics Type: other
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Scenes from the Life of Moses
Scenes from the Life of Moses
Painting ID:: 62947
1481-82 Fresco Cappella Sistina, Vatican The central scene, in which Moses watering the sheep belonging to Jethro's daughters - one of them, Zipporah, later became his wife - is one of the most charming genre pictures in the entire cycle. According to the typologial interpretation, it is a reference to Christ, who looks after his Church. Artist: BOTTICELLI, Sandro Painting Title: Scenes from the Life of Moses (detail) , 1451-1500 Painting Style: Italian , , religious
1481-82 Fresco Cappella Sistina, Vatican The central scene, in which Moses watering the sheep belonging to Jethro's daughters - one of them, Zipporah, later became his wife - is one of the most charming genre pictures in the entire cycle. According to the typologial interpretation, it is a reference to Christ, who looks after his Church. Artist: BOTTICELLI, Sandro Painting Title: Scenes from the Life of Moses (detail) , 1451-1500 Painting Style: Italian , , religious
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Scenes from the Life of Moses
Scenes from the Life of Moses
Painting ID:: 62948
1481-82 Fresco Cappella Sistina, Vatican The detail shows Moses taking off his shoes. Artist: BOTTICELLI, Sandro Painting Title: Scenes from the Life of Moses (detail) , 1451-1500 Painting Style: Italian , , religious
1481-82 Fresco Cappella Sistina, Vatican The detail shows Moses taking off his shoes. Artist: BOTTICELLI, Sandro Painting Title: Scenes from the Life of Moses (detail) , 1451-1500 Painting Style: Italian , , religious
Italian Early Renaissance Painter, 1445-1510
Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi, better known as Sandro Botticelli or Il Botticello ("The Little Barrel"; March 1, 1445 ?C May 17, 1510) 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.
Details of Botticelli's life are sparse, but we know that he became an apprentice when 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. Probably by 1462 he 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. As recently discovered, during this time, Botticelli could have traveled to Hungary, participating in the creation of a fresco in Esztergom, ordered in the workshop of Fra Filippo Lippi by Vitez J??nos, then archbishop of Hungary.
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.