Botticelli, Sandro

Themes > Arts > Painting > Renaissance Painting > Early Renaissance > In Florence > Botticelli, Sandro

Although he was one of the most individual painters of the Italian Renaissance, Sandro Botticelli remained little known for centuries after his death. Then his work was rediscovered late in the 19th century by a group of artists in England known as the Pre-Raphaelites.

Born Alessandro di Mariano Filipepi in Florence in 1445, Botticelli was apprenticed to a goldsmith. Later he was a pupil of the painter Fra Filippo Lippi. He spent all his life in Florence except for a visit to Rome in 1481-82. There he painted wall frescoes in the Sistine Chapel of the Vatican.

In Florence, Botticelli was a protege of several members of the powerful Medici family. He painted portraits of the family and many religious pictures, including the famous The Adoration of the Magi. The most original of his paintings are those illustrating Greek and Roman legends. The best known are the two large panels Primavera and The Birth of Venus.

His works:

The Adoration of the Magi 1470-75; Tempera on panel (130 Kb); 111 x 134 cm; Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

Madonna of the Magnificat c.1485; Tempera on Panel, diameter 118 cm, in the Galleria degli Uffizi in Florence (thanks to Tim Sullivan, sullivan@hpl.hp.com)

Madonna of the Pomegranate Madonna and Child and six Angels, c. 1487, Uffizi in Florence (thanks to Peter Mandaville, pgm@st-and.ac.uk)

The Cestello Annunciation c. 1489 (180 Kb); Tempera on panel, 150 x 156 cm; Uffizi, Florence