-1500 PRE 53 • otticelli B andro S of the Bonfire and Botticelli between relationship The Dominicanthe fanatic monk Girolamo much debate has provoked Savonarola the to According history. throughout Botticelli Vasari, Giorgio chronicler of the priest and became a devotee abandoned pagan themes in his . suggests now A new school of thought the will to subordination Botticelli’s that it led him so complete was of Savonarola on some of his own throw to Vanities, of the Bonfire notorious the to 7, 1497. Such a notion defies on February though, the fire, Like a raging belief. speed. gather to theories continue ABOVE: is one of the The Birth of world’s most recognizable paintings. most recognizable world’s La The 1485), (c. in which the artist The Botticelli’s Botticelli’s and attitude radically altered in his later (1308–1321), but ill health curtailed SG his dream. treatment treatment of mythical and religious themes, and portraiture skills—showered him They were not with alone. commissions. In 1481 Sixtus IV summoned him to to the walls. He studied Florentine art forms, harmonious creating sizes, all of tondi and frescoes, , figures. vital emotive, and landscapes fantastic of compositions for taste family’s the mirrored commissions Medici the of Many classical antiquity represented by mythological figures. This unique style of secular painting peaked 1482) (c. with and typically ambiguous allegoricalemploys forms. years under the influence of the Dominican priest Savonarola. His paintings became smaller, the a to himself dedicated he themeslife, his of end the Toward apocalyptic anguished. and lifelong ambition of illustrating Dante’s Allegory of Lippi’s own style is evident in much of his pupil’s early work, early pupil’s his of much in evident is style own Lippi’s his with in painter independent an was he 1470 By SANDRO BOTTICELLI 1444 (Florence, ); died May 17, 1444 (Florence, c. Filipepi, Vanni di MarianoBorn: Alessandro di Italy). 1510 (Florence, linear Artistic strong themes; allegorical figures; style: Classical and mythological ; depictions of divine and love. Botticelli’s paintings are timeless: their heavy use of allegory renders them as much an enigma had as Yet the their creator. not young Alessandro persuaded his father to end his training as a goldsmith, the world would have been robbed of one of Thankfully, . Florentine the of painters greatest the the boy known as apprenticed to the Botticelli,Early Renaissance master Lippi, Fra’Filippo meaning “little barrel,” greatness. to on the way who set his protégé was as Botticelli absorbed his decoration and a strong master’s linear sense of form. When taste Fra Lippi for left extravagant for , Botticelli went to work with the painters and sculptors Antonio Pollaiolo and . Both artists favored naturalistically portrayed, muscular approach. their sculptural and copied admired Botticelli figures; own workshop and had his (1470). His talents soon attracted first the mighty Medici commission: family who—enamored with his secular historical works, otticelli B Portrait of Botticelli from Vasari’s Vasari’s from of Botticelli Portrait : andro • ove 1484 (Staatliche Museen, 1484 (Staatliche ) , Germany) Italy) (, Florence, England) London, Italy) (Uffizi, Florence, Italy) (Uffizi, Florence, (Birmingham & Art Gallery, Birmingham, England) England) London, b A was painted before RIGHT: before painted was La Primavera S Botticelli’s involvement with Savonarola. with involvement Botticelli’s 52 1482 (Uffizi, Florence, Italy) 1482 (Uffizi, Florence, c. Primavera La (Bardi and Child Enthroned Virgin The 1485 c. BirthThe of Venus Gallery, 1485 (National and Mars c. Venus 1490–1494 in His Cell St. Augustine of 1494–1495 Calumny 1495–1505 Descent of the Holy Ghost c. The Mystic Nativity Gallery, 1500 (National Masterworks Lives of the ArtistsLives , first published in 1550.

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