Sandro Botticelli
Sandro Botticelli was a painter from the Early Italian Renaissance who lived from 1445 to 1510. He was one of the many artists who flourished in Florence, Italy, under the patronage of the Medici family. His artwork is known for its extreme beauty.
Born in Florence in 1445, Sandro Botticelli was initially apprenticed to a goldsmith before becoming a pupil in the workshop of Filippo Lippi, one of the most respected Florentine artists of his day. Under Lippi’s tutelage, Botticelli learned the basics of the art styles of the time, mastering the techniques behind frescoes and linear perspective. He also adopted some of Lippi’s own personal style such as using a lighter palette and capturing the fine detail in his subject’s costume wear.
By 1470, Botticelli had his own workshop and his style matured into his own, employing more robust colors, a richer palette, and more naturalistic renderings of his subjects. Botticelli’s greatest patron was Lorenzo de’ Medici; the same family that would essentially fund the great artists of the High Renaissance.
Sandro Botticelli’s work is known for its defined, yet graceful outlines. He was one of the earliest artists to do equally well painting both religious and secular subjects. His portraiture work is what likely led to his fruitful working relationship with the Medici family. Botticelli was among other esteemed artists of his day who were asked to paint frescoes in the Sistine Chapel. Botticelli is best known for his mythological tempera painting, “The Birth of Venus” from circa 1484 to 1486. In this painting, he depicts Venus emerging from a seashell; a motif that has been copied many times throughout the centuries. He died and was buried at the chiesa di Ognissanti in Florence, Italy.
After his death in 1510, Botticelli was mostly forgotten, likely due to the emergence of the High Renaissance and the artists it produced, like Michelangelo and Leonardi da Vinci. He was rediscovered by the Pre-Raphaelites of nineteenth century England.
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