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| BOTTICELLI'S OUTPUT CANNOT even be hinted at in only five paintings, so just take these pages as five paintings to be enjoyed. The images on this page are thumbnails; click on the image to see a full-sized picture. |
 Madonna
of the Eucharist is from 1472, when the artist was 27 years old.
It is an early example of the many Madonnas painted by Botticelli
in his life. |
 Madonna
of the Magnificat. This tondo (circular painting, from
the Italian) was painted in 1482. |
| jkjk |
 Virgin
and Child with Five Angels is probably from the 1480's and is
remarkable for the unidealised tiredness of both mother and baby. |
| jkjk |
 Annunciation
[The Cestello Annunciation] was commissioned in
1489 for an altarpiece in the Cestello church in Florence. |
| kjk |
 Lamentation
over the Dead Christ is a pietà from Botticelli's later
style of the 1490's (see Savonarola, side panel).
[A pietà is a representation of the dead Christ supported by Mary] |
| Sandro
Botticelli Born in Florence in 1445, Alessandro dei Filipepi was the fourth son of a wealthy tanner. Deciding to become an artist, he worked as an apprentice with Fra Filippo Lippi, the foremost Florentine painter of the day, and also studied with other leading figures of that city. By the time he was 25, he felt confident enough to work on his own, and was commissioned almost immediately by a Trades Guild to paint the Allegory of Fortitude, one of a series of paintings to illustrate the seven virtues. Botticelli's contribution to this series was admired by everyone who saw it, including - crucially - the Medici family, who introduced him to the highest stratum of Florentine society. His career assured, Botticelli spent most of the 1470's and 1480's in commissions for the Medicis and other leading patrons of the day. 1492 saw the death of Lorenzo de' Medici, and the development of a serious political crisis. From the midst of the chaos there emerged Savonarola, a monk and religious fanatic who preached austerity and demanded that Florence turn its back on luxury and the current artistic fashions. Botticelli's work changed dramatically, moving away from the reconciliation of Classical and Christian idiom and towards intense Christian devotion. Savonarola was hanged in 1498, and after this Botticelli's popularity waned, though this may be due more to changing fashions in art rather than any political considerations. Botticelli died in 1510, and for over 300 years his work lay effectively ignored. Only in the 19th century did Millais and Rossetti lead a revival of interest in his work, rightly reinstating him as one of the greatest talents of the Florentine Renaissance. |