| paintings of Sandro Botticelli ...1 |
| Giuliano de'Medici by Sandro Botticelli |
| ---painters--- |
 |
 |
 |
| Images expand instantly on clicking |
| Calumny of Apelles by Sandro Botticelli |
| hand from Madonna by Sandro Botticelli |
| Primavera by Sandro Botticelli |
 |
| Nastagio degli Onesti by Sandro Botticelli |
| famous painters |
| famous artists |
| famous paintings |
| famous paintings |
| botticelli pages |
| SANDRO BOTTICELLI BIOGRAPHY Sandro Botticelli (March 1, 1445 - May 17, 1510) was one of the few highly celebrated painters of the Florentine Renaissance. Alessandro di Mariano Filipepi was his original name but was better known as Botticello meaning little barrel. He was the son of a tanner and belonged to a middle class family. He was first apprenticed to a goldsmith. But soon his father sent him to a painter-Fra Filippo Lippi as an apprentice to learn the basics of painting. Fra Filippo Lippi was at that time frescoing the Convent of the Carmine. The art of making three dimensional forms, human figures and expressions was picked up by Botticelli that helped him a long way. Apart from panel painting and fresco he also learnt linear perspective. He also worked with the painter and engraver Antonio del Pollaiuolo and learnt about the line and its forms. Later he was an apprentice of Andrea del Verrocchio, where Leonardo da Vinci too worked as an apprentice. Under the influence of Antonio del Pollaiuolo, Botticelli transformed the art he had learned from Lippi into figures of roundness and strength. These changes in style could be seen in the two small panels of "Judith and Holofernes" (c. 1469) now in the Uffizi Gallery, Florence and the "Chigi Madonna", "Fortitude" (1470; Uffizi), which was painted for the hall of the Tribunale della Mercanzia. Botticelli used more of ochre for the shadowed parts of flesh tones. By 1470 Botticelli had his own workshop. Botticelli was so engrossed and busy with his art that he never married. Almost all of his life he spent working for the Medici family that was one of the most renouned in Florence. Around 1475-1476 he painted the portrait of Giuliano de Medici now kept at the National Gallery of Art, Washington and his grandfather Cosimo and father Piero. Portraits of all four Medici appear as the Three Magi and an attendant figure in the "Adoration of the Magi" from Santa Maria Novella. He also painted a banner of Pallas and Cupid. This work, though lost, is important as a key to Botticelli's use of classical mythology to illustrate the sentiment of medieval courtly love in his great mythological paintings. His altarpieces include the "St. Sebastian" (1474; Berlin), "Adoration of the Magi" (c. 1476; Uffizi) and the beautiful Bardi altarpiece (1484-85; Berlin). Adoration of the Magi bears resemblence to the Medic's and himself to certain extent. The Adoration of the Magi, with the portraits of Cosimo de' Medici, his grandson Giuliano de' Medici, and Cosimo's son Giovanni, was described by Vasari as one of the magnificient works displaying the artists perfection. The expressions are varied and depict a different temparament in each portrait. Apart from these, large-scale works such as the St. Barnabas altarpiece (c. 1488; Uffizi) and the "Coronation of the Virgin" (c. 1490; Uffizi) also add to his list of works. "St. Augustine" made in 1480 is a splendid fresco at the Church of Ognissanti. In 1481 a team of Florentine artists were commisioned in Rome to decorate the Sistine Chapel. Botticelli's frescos were also a part of the project. Botticelli was very religious. He painted religious subjects like panels of the Madonna, such as the Madonna of the Magnificat (1480s), Madonna of the Pomegranate (1480s), and Coronation of the Virgin (1490), all in the Uffizi, and Madonna and Child with Two Saints (1485) now at the Staatliche Museen, Berlin. Other religious works include Saint Sebastian (1473-1474) at the Staatliche Museen and a fresco, Saint Augustine (1480) at the Church of the Ognissanti, Florence. He burned his own paintings on pagan themes in the notorious "Bonfire of the Vanities". Botticelli was influenced by its Christian Neoplatonism, which tried to reconcile classical and Christian views. Two larger panels commissioned for Medici villas, Primavera (1478) and Birth of Venus (after 1482) have not been deciphered but may depict Venus as a symbol of both pagan and Christian love. Botticelli also painted religious subjects as the Madonna of the Magnificat (1480s), Coronation of the Virgin (1490), Madonna of the Pomegranate (1480s) and Madonna and Child with Two Saints Berlin (1485) . Other religious works include Saint Sebastian at the Staatliche Museem (1473-147) and a fresco Saint Augustine now kept at the Church of the Ognissanti, Florence (1480). In 1481 Botticelli was commissioned to decorate the walls of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. The Temptation of Christ, the Youth of Moses and the Punishment of the Sons of Corah were done during this time. After a few years, around 1490 the Medici were expelled from Florence. During this time Botticelli was under a religious turmoil. His works during this time such as the Pietà (1490s) now at the Museo Poldi Pezzoli, Milan and the Mystic Nativity (1490) at the National Gallery, London give a religious touch to his style. Also the Mystic Crucifixion (1496) at the Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, Massachusetts show a sudden inclination to religious devotion Botticelli's art underwent a strange reformation after the 1490s. The reason could be attributed to his involvement with reformist and preacher Girolamo Savonarola during the 1490s. Hispaintings were comparitively smaller in scale, the figures were slender and the style reflected a mysterious beginning of a new art in himself. This typical mannerism appears in Botticelli's latest works of the 1480s, but the magnificent Cestello "Annunciation" (1490; Uffizi) and the small "Piet?" at the Poldi-Pezzoli Museum reflected that he could still produce masterpieces. After 1494 there were drastic changes in Florence as its Medici rulers fell, and a republican government under Savonarola was established. Botticelli was a devoted follower of Savonarola, and the reformations in the artists spiritual life are reflected in two religious paintings, the apocalyptic "Mystic Crucifixion" (1497 at the Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, Mass and the "Mystic Nativity" (1501) now kept at the National Gallery, London . Botticelli maintained a poor and disabled existance in his last years though his family was quite prosperous. He was keeping bad health during his last years even as he received commissions throughout the 1490s. He wasl paying his dues to the Company of Saint Luke, the Florentine artists' guild, in 1505. But during 1505 or so he didnot takeup any more projects as his condition had worsened. His end came in 1510 and he was buried in the Ognissanti. His masterpieces are now kept at the Uffizi Gallery's magnificent collection. |
| Van gogh, Renoir, Degas, Cezanne, Monet Gauguin, Hokusai, Bierstadt, Homer, Goya, Mark Raphael, Lenardo da vinci |
| Michel Angelo, Dutch master, Caravaggio, Caillebotte, Vaneyck, Whistler, Cassatt, Botticelli Seurat, David, Turner |
| Famous paintings of Sandro Botticelli are shown. |
| We included the famous paintings of Botticelli. Watch video of paintings by world's famous painters. Video and slideshow of their famous paintings can be seen and downloaded free. Video clips |