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Alessandro
Botticelli was born in Florence in 1444 or 1445, the fourth son of
Mariano
di Vanni Filipepi, a tanner. Alessandro's nickname was derived from the
one given to his eldest brother Giovanni, who, because of his
corpulence,
was called "Il Botticello" (little barrel). It is believed that
Botticelli
was apprenticed as a goldsmith before being sent, probably in the
beginning
of the 1460s, to Fra Filippo Lippi
in order to study painting.
Since 1470, Botticelli ran his own workshop in Florence and, in 1472,
he
became a member of the St. Luke's Guild. His early woks were mostly
small
religious pieces. In 1470, he was commissioned to paint Fortitude
(c.1470) for the Florentine Tribunate di Mercatanzia. In 1474, his
first
monumental work St. Sebastian
(1474) was mounted on a pillar in the Florentine church of Santa Maria
Maggiore. He painted Adoration of
the
Magi (c.1475), on which he depicted members of Medici clan,
the ruling family of the Florence, also his Portrait
of Giuliano de' Medici (c.1476-1477) was well known. He had
a lasting fame as a painter of Madonnas. Among his best are Madonna
and Child with Eight Angels (Tondo Raczynski) (c.1478), Madonna
del Libro (c.1480), Madonna
of the Magnificat (c.1480-1481), Madonna
of the Pomegranate (c.1487), Madonna
del Padiglione (c.1493).
In 1480, Botticelli was commissioned to paint the fresco St.
Augustine (1480) for the Ognissanti church. At that period
he also created another fresco, which did not survived. In 1481,
Botticelli
was commissioned along with Domenico Ghirlandaio, Cosimo Rosseli and
Pierro
Perugino by Pope Sixtus IV to decorate his cappella magna,
which
was later named the
Sistine Chapel after him, with frescos. He created The
Temptation of Christ (1481-1482), Scenes
from the Life of Moses (1481-1482) and The
Punishment of Korah (1481-1482).
In the next years he painted The
Story
of Nastagio degli Onesti (1482-1483), a series of 4
frescos
based on the novella in Boccaccio's Decameron for the
decoration
of the Pucci villa, and his most famous mythologic works Primavera
(c.1482) and The Birth of Venus
(c.1485). He created several great altarpieces for Florentine churches,
such as Virgin and Child Enthroned
between
Saint John the Baptist and Saint John the Evangelist (Bardi altarpiece)
(1484), Virgin and Child with Four
Angels
and Six Saints (San Barnabas altarpiece) (c.1487), Coronation
of the Virgin with the Saints John the Evangelist, Augustine, Jerome
and
Eligius. (San Marco altarpiece) (c. 1490-1492).
In the 1490s, Botticelli became influenced by the Dominican monk Girolamo
Savonarola, in whose sermons and writings he conjured up visions of
the Apocalypse at the imminent turn of the century and warned people to
repent and embrace asceticism. Botticelli's style became more severe
and
strict. In the late 1480s, the artist made illustrations for Dante's Divine
Comedy. Among his last known works are Calumny
of Apelles (c.1494-1495), The
Story of Virginia (c.1496-1504), The
Story of Lucretia (c.1496-1504), Mystic
Nativity (1500) and St.
Zenobiuspanels
(1500-1505). The last years of Botticelli's life are unknown. He
died
on the 17th of May, 1510 in Florence and was buried in the Ognissanti
cemetery.
Notes
Giuliano de' Medici (1453-1478),
brother
of Lorenzo de' Medici "The Magnificent", ruler of Florence. He was
killed
on 26 April 1478, while mass was being celebrated in Florence
Cathedral,
during an attack made by Pazzi family, who were the Medicis' rivals for
power and banking business.
See: Alessandro Botticelli. Portrait
of Giuliano de' Medici.
Madonna and Child with Six Saints -
This
type of altar painting is called Sacra Conversazione, and it shows the
enthroned Madonna surrounded by saints. To the left are Mary
Magdalene with the ointment jar and St.
John the Baptist wearing furs, and to the right are St.
Fransis of Assici in the Franciscans' habit and Catherine
of Alexandria with her wheel. The two kneeling saints, Cosmas
and Damian, were patron saints
of
medicine, doctors and pharmacists.
See: Alessandro Botticelli. Madonna
and Child with Six Saints.
Madonna of the Magnificat - Baby
Christ
inspires Mary for writing the Magnificat, her hymn of praise to the
Lord.
Two of the angels are crowning her as the Queen of Heavens. The crown
consists
of innumerable stars; they are an illusion to the stella matutina
(morning
star), one of the Virgin's names in contemporary hymns devoted to Mary.
See: Alessandro Botticelli. Madonna
of the Magnificat.
Scenes from the Life of Moses - are to be
read from right to left: Moses, in a shining yellow garment, angrily
strikes
an Egyptian overseer and then flees to the Midianites. There he
disperses
a group of shepherds, who were preventing the daughter of Jethro from
drawing
water at the well. After the divine revelation in the burning bush at
the
top left, Moses obeys God's commandment and leads the people of Israel
in a triumphal procession from slavery in Egypt. More
about Moses.
See: Alessandro Botticelli. Scenes
from the Life of Moses.
The Punishment of Korah - from right to
left,
the fresco shows 3 episodes of the revolt against Moses' and Aaron's
authority.
On the right Joshua is defending Moses from the rebellious people who
want
to stone him. In the center, the sons of Aaron and Levi are attempting
to dispute Aaron's right to be a priest. On the left, the earth is
opening
up at Moses' command and is swallowing the rebels. Only the innocent
are
saved.
See: Alessandro Botticelli. The
Punishment of Korah.
Primavera (Spring). Venus
is standing in the center of the picture, above her Cupid
is aimimg one of his arrows of love at the three dancing Graces.
The Garden of the goddess of love is guarded by Mercury (he is wearing
winged shoes) on the left. From the right, Zephyr, the god of the
winds,
is pursuing a nymph. Next to her walks Flora,
the goddess of spring, who is scattering flowers.
See: Alessandro Botticelli. Primavera.
Pallas/Camilla and the Centaur. A
centaur
has trespassed on forbidden territory. This lusty being, half horse and
half man, is being brought under control by a guard armed with a shield
and halberd, and she has grabbed him by the hair. The woman-guard has
been
undentified both as the goddess Pallas
Athena and the Amazon Camilla. The moral content of the painting
is:
virtue is victorious over sensuality.
See: Alessandro Botticelli. Pallas/Camilla
and the Centaur.
The Story of Virginia. This is a
story
from Ancient Rome: the beautiful, virtuous Virginia becomes the victim
of an intrigue of the decemvir Appius Claudius, and despite her
innocence
is to be condemned to a life of slavery. In order to avoid this
disgrace,
she is stabbed to death by her father. The event led to a revolt
against
Rome's tyrannical decemvirs. See also a painting
by Filippino Lippi.
See: Alessandro Botticelli. The
Story of Virginia.
Filippino Lippi. Three
Scenes
from the Story of Virginia: Appius Claudius Stops Virginia; The
"Decemvir"
Condems Virginia to Slavery; Virginia is Killed by Virginius.
Baptism of St. Zenobius and his
Appointment
as Bishop. Botticeli depicted the life and work of St. Zenobius
(337-417),
the first bishop of Florence, in 4 paintings. In the first scene, St.
Zenobius
is shown twice: he rejects the bride that his parents intended him to
take
in marriage and walks thoughtfully away (on the left). The other
episodes
show the baptism of the young Zenobius and his mother, and on the right
his ordination as bishop.
Three Miracles of St. Zenobius. On the left St. Zenobius saves
two men who are possessed by devils. After praying for them in front of
the cross, he blesses them, and little devils disappear out of their
mouths.
In the center St. Zenobius restores to life the child of a pilgrim to
Rome.
On the right he heals a blind man, who is kneeling before the bishop
with
his little dog.
Three Miracles of St. Zenobius. In front of an astonished
crowd,
St. Zenobius raises a young man from the dead. He also saves a man who
fell from his horse while transporting the relics of saints. The scene
in the interior shows St. Zenobius healing his sick deacon. The latter
gets up immediately in order to use the water St. Zenobius has blessed
to bring a dead relative to life.
Last Miracle and the Death of St. Zenobius. A child is run over
by a cart. His mother, a widow, brings the body to St. Zenobius,
pleading
to revive her son. St. Zenobius revives the child. On the the right,
the
dying bishop blesses those praying by his deathbed.
See: Alessandro Botticelli. Baptism
of St. Zenobius and his Appointment as Bishop. Three
Miracles of St. Zenobius. Three
Miracles
of St. Zenobius. Last Miracle and
the
Death of St. Zenobius.
Calumny of Apelles An innocent
young
man is dragged before the king's throne by the personifications of
Calumny,
Malice, Fraud and Envy. They are followed to one side by Remorse as an
old woman, turning to face the naked Truth. Truth, like the innocent
youth,
is naked as she has nothing to conceal.
See: Alessandro Botticelli. Calumny
of Apelles.
Bibliography:
Painting of Europe. XIII-XX centuries. Encyclopedic Dictionary.
Moscow. Iskusstvo. 1999.
Botticelli. by V. Graszhenkov. Moscow. 1962.
Sandro Botticelli. by T. Kustodiyeva. Leningrad. 1971.
Sandro Botticelli. by G. Dunayev. Moscow. 1977.
Botticelli
by Federico Zeri (Editor), Marco Dolcetta (Editor), Sandro Botticelli.
NDE Publishing, 2000.
Sandro Botticelli: Life
and Work by Ronald Lightbown. Abbeville Press, 1989.
The Painter's Daughter:
The Story of Sandro Botticelli and Alessandra Lippi by
Carolyn Street LaFond. Frederic C. Beil Publisher, 2002.
Sandro Botticelli: The
Picture Cycle for Dante's Divine Comedy by Hein-Thomas
Altcappenberg. Royal Academy Books, 2000.
Botticelli
by Pierluigi De Vecchi, Daniel Arasse. Skira, 2004.
Sandro Botticelli
1444/45-1510 (Basic Art) by Taschen, Barbara Deimling.
Taschen, 2000.