Sandro Botticelli was born in 1445 in Florence. In a family of four sons, he was the youngest. By profession, Mariano was a tanner. He lived with his family in the Santa Maria Novella quarter on Via Nuova. In the house that belonged to Rucellai, he rented an apartment. Being the owner of a workshop near the bridge of Santa Trinita in Oltrarno, he was not provided for, since the business was not particularly profitable. In his dreams, the elderly Filipepi wanted to identify his sons as soon as possible so that he could leave such a difficult craft.
Sandro Botticelli is the pseudonym of the artist, his real name Alessandro Filipepi. And for friends, he was just Sandro. And today there is no unequivocal answer to the question of the origin of the nickname " Botticelli". There is a version that this is education from the nickname given to the older brother for raising the youngest of the sons, in order to somehow help his father. Or perhaps the nickname came into being in connection with the craft of his second brother Antonio.
Be that as it may, jewelry art undoubtedly affected the formation of Botticelli in his youth, because it was in this area that his brother Antonio moved him. Alessandro was sent by his father to the jeweler Botticelli. Being a capable and gifted student, he was restless.
Around 1464, Sandro decided to work in the workshop of Fra Filippo Lippi from the monastery of Carmine. At that time he was considered great painter. At the age of 20 (1467) Sandro left the workshop. He was completely absorbed in painting and imitated his teacher in everything, for which he fell in love with the young man and raised his painting skills to unprecedented heights.
Although the first works completely copied the style of Fra Filippo Lippi, they already showed an unusual atmosphere of spirituality, with the poetry of images.
In 1467, the teacher Sandro moved to Spoleto, where he was soon overtaken by death. Stretching for knowledge, Botticelli embarked on a search for a new source of artistic achievement.
Christmas / Botticelli
Christmas
He devoted some period to the workshop of Andrea Verrocchio, who was a versatile master, painter, sculptor And jeweler. He was at the head of a team of multi-talented emerging artists. Communication bore fruit, so the pictures appeared “ Madonna in the rose garden"(about 1470, Florence, Uffizi), as well as" Madonna and Child with two angels"(1468-1469), combining the lessons of Lippi and Verrocchio. Probably, these works were the first truly independent creations. Botticelli.
The period 1467-1470 was characterized by the famous image of Sandro, called " Altar of Sant'Ambrogio". In the cadastre of 1469, Mariano reported that Sandro worked at home, from which it can be concluded that by that time Botticelli was already a completely independent artist. As for the fate of the other sons, the eldest of them, being a broker, was a financial intermediary in the government. His nickname is " Botticella”, which in translation “barrel” migrated to his famous brother. The Filipepi family had impressive incomes (they were owners of houses, owners of land, shops and vineyards) and occupied a high position in society.
So in 1970 Botticelli opened the doors of his own workshop. And approximately between July 18 and August 8, 1470, he drew a line to the work, which brought the master public acceptance and popularity. The picture that was depicted allegory of Strength, was addressed to the Commercial Court. This institution was one of the most important and dealt with offenses of an economic nature.
The year 1472 was characterized by Sandro's entry into the association of artists - the Guild of St. paintings or frescoes, but also inlays, engravings, mosaics, models for "standards and other fabrics", stained-glass windows, book illustrations. In the first year, being a member of the association of artists Botticelli was an official student of Filippino Lippi, who was the son former teacher craftsman.
Sandro's orders mostly came from Florence. So one of the most magnificent of his works is the painting “ Saint Sebastian”was performed for the oldest church in the city of Santa Maria Maggiore. And on January 20, 1474 (on the feast of St. Sebastian Maggiore), the work, being the first confirmed work of Sandro, was festively placed on one of the columns of the Church of Santa Maria, which was firmly entrenched in the artistic panorama of Florence.
Also in 1474, after completing work on this work, the master was invited to work in another city. The request of the Pisans was to paint frescoes in the Camposanto painting cycle. It was during this period of time that close contact reigned between Botticelli and the recognized rulers of Florence - members of the Medici family. This is confirmed by the work (which has become a reflection of the artist’s communication with his family). Medici) « Adoration of the Magi ”, ordered between 1475 and 1478 by Gaspare (or Giovanni) da Zanobi Lami (a banker close to the Medici family).
Adoration of the Magi / Botticelli
Adoration of the Magi
Special interest this picture causes a number of researchers, because it is on it that you can find an image of a whole layer of important historical figures. However, it is worth paying attention to the remarkable compositional construction, which indicates the level of skill of the artist at that time.
The peak of the culmination of the development of realism in the image with an increase in psychological expressiveness falls on the interval between 1475 and 1482. The most famous paintings of Sandro (" Primavera " And " Birth of Venus ”), which were commissioned by the Medici family, became the embodiment of the cultural atmosphere characteristic of the medical circle. Historians unanimously gave the dates of these works - 1477-1478. In this case, the existence of Venus does not mean the experience of love in the concept of paganism, but symbolizes the humanistic ideal of spiritual love. When the soul, consciously or semi-consciously, rushes up and purifies everything in its movement.
Thus, the roles of Spring are shaded by a cosmological-spiritual character. Zephyr, fertilizing, unites with Flora, thereby giving rise to Primavera, Spring as a symbol of the animating forces of Nature. Blindfolded Cupid is above Venus (the center of the composition), identified with Humanitas (the constellation of the spiritual properties of man, personifying the three Graces), Mercury, looking up, disperses the clouds with his caduceus.
Botticelli interprets the myth, which carries a special atmosphere of expressiveness: the scenes of the idyll are placed against the background of orange trees, which are densely intertwined with branches, subject to a single harmonic rhythm. This is achieved with the help of linear outlines of figures, draperies, dance movements, which gradually subside in the contemplative gesture of Mercury. The figures are associated with the tapestry due to the clear manner of depiction against the background of deaf foliage.
The characteristic content of Sandro's works is the idea of Humanitas, which means the interweaving of the spiritual properties of a person, in most cases it is embodied in the image of Venus or sometimes Pallas-Minerva. Or otherwise interpreted - this is the idea of impeccable beauty, which carries the intellectual and spiritual potential of a person, external beauty as a reflection of internal beauty, as well as a grain of universal harmony, a microcosm in the macrocosm.
Judging by the number of students and assistants who were registered in the cadastre, in 1480 the workshop Botticelli has been widely recognized. Also this year was marked by the writing of Sandro "Saint Augustine", located on the altar barrier in the Church of All Saints (Ognisanti). This order was made for Vespucci - a respected family of the city, which was close to the Medici.
Apocryphal texts were widely circulated, leading to the veneration of both saints in the 15th century. Sandro Botticelli worked tirelessly to be able to become the best among all the painters of that time, focusing on Domenico Ghirlandaio, who completed the image of St. Jerome from a different side. This creativity was carried out flawlessly, the saint's face expressed the depth, subtlety and sharpness of thought, so characteristic of the sages.
Lorenzo Medici in political views, he sought to reconcile with the pope and contributed to the increase in the cultural ties of Florence. Thus Botticelli, Pietro Perugino, Cosimo Rosselli And Domenico Ghirlandaio- On October 27, 1480, they were sent to Rome to paint the walls of the new "great chapel" of the Vatican, which was immediately erected by order of Pope Sixtus IV (which is why it got its name Sistine). By order of Sixtus IV Botticelli was appointed chief of the work, currently the master's frescoes are considered more valuable than the works of other artists. The finished frescoes were installed in the autumn of 1482 in the place allotted for them in the chapel, not far from the opening works of Signorelli and Bartolomeo della Gatta. Botticelli and the rest of the masters returned to Florence, where he soon experienced the loss of his father.
During its greatest creative activity Sandro had a close relationship with the court Lorenzo Medici, which served as the writing of most of the most famous works of the master in the 70-80s by order of members of this family. The inspiration of the rest of the works was drawn from the poems of Poliziano or was influenced by literary disputes arising from humanist scholars, as well as friends of Lorenzo the Magnificent.
If we talk about the portraits made by Botticelli, then, undoubtedly, they occupy a not so high level in the gallery of images that are included in his compositions. Probably, this type of work was given to the artist less because of his constant need for movement and perfection of rhythm, which a chest-length portrait (typical of the 15th century) could not give.
Of course, one cannot ignore the sublime character of Sandro's realism. At least, this can be traced potentially in his male portraits. In them, one can especially note as a masterpiece only " Lorenzano”is an interweaving of extraordinary vitality and a portrait of a young man, expressing an outstanding expression of the interpretation of the formulation of love.
Slander / Botticelli
Slander
When Botticelli returned to Rome, he wrote a series of large works on the theme of religion, containing several tondos, in which the sensitivity of the artist's emotions could be fully expressed in the order of forms on the plane. The purpose of the tondo was a decorative function - to decorate the apartments of the Florentine nobility or as collectible works of art.
Tondo " Adoration of the Magi”, which was known to us first, has a date of the seventies. Presumably, it acted as a table top in Pucci's house. The starting point is this albeit young work, in which distorted perspectives are justified with a horizontal arrangement of the picture. In it, Botticelli shows a "sophistical", disturbing and sober approach.
Examples are works: Madonna Magnificat"(1485) and" Madonna with pomegranate"(1487). The first work, with the help of a special bend of curved lines, as well as a collective circular rhythm, creates the illusion of a picture created on a convex surface. The second work, intended for the Courtroom of the Palazzo Signoria, is characterized by the use of a reverse technique, which forms the effect of a concave surface.
A different mood is created in the impressive work of Sandro “ Wedding of the Mother of God”, dated 1490. So, if the years 1484-1489 are marked by Botticelli's contentment with his works and himself, then " Wedding"carries a completely different message - the excitement of feelings, unexplored anxieties and hopes. The angels were handed over with great emotion, and the oath of St. Jerome is full of confidence and dignity.
At the same time, in this work one feels a rejection of perfection in proportions (perhaps because of this, the work was not so successful), the majestic tension increases, which is typical only for inner peace heroes, there is an increase in the sharpness of the color, which becomes more and more independent.
Botticelli strove for the knowledge of a greater degree of drama, which is typical for such works of the author as " abandoned". The plot of this work was undoubtedly rooted in the Bible - Tamar, who was expelled by Ammon. But this one historical fact transformed into an artistic embodiment becomes sufficient to acquire an eternal status: here are the fragile feelings of a woman, and sympathy for her loneliness, and even a dense barrier as a closed gate, as well as a dense wall that symbolizes the walls of a medieval castle.
Spring / Botticelli
Spring
In 1493, Florence is stunned by the death of Lorenzo the Magnificent. And even more significant events take place in the Botticelli family, important events - brother Giovanni dies, who is buried next to his father in the cemetery. Simone (another brother) arrives from Naples, together with whom the master buys a "master's house" in San Sepolcro a Bellosguardo.
Sandro's latest works breathe an intensification of the religious moral disposition of the spirit. Botticelli always took religion and morality seriously, this was evident in the transformation of Lippi's uncomplicated and traditional melody into mystical contemplation " Madonnas of the Eucharist».
Sandro Botticelli (1445-1510) is one of the most prominent Florentine artists who worked during the Early Renaissance. The nickname Botticelli, which translated into Russian means a barrel, originally belonged to the older brother of the artist Giovanni, who had a large physique. The real name of the painter is Alessandro Filipepi.
Childhood, youth and skill training
Botticelli was born in the family of a tanner. The first mention of him was discovered 13 years after the birth of the boy, in 1458. Young Botticelli was an extremely sickly child, but he made every effort to learn to read. Around the same period, Sandro began to earn extra money in the workshop of his other brother Antonio.
Botticelli's craft was not destined to be engaged, and he understood this after some time of work as an apprentice. In the early 60s of the XV century, Sandro began studying with one of the greatest artists of that era - Fra Filippo Lippi. The style of the master affected the young Botticelli, which later manifested itself in early work artist.
Already in 1467, the young Florentine artist opened a workshop, and among his first works are "Madonna with babies and two angels", "Madonna of the Eucharist" and some other paintings.
The beginning of an independent creative path
Sandro completed his first project already in 1470, and his work was intended for the courtroom. Botticelli's business went as well as possible, and soon he became a sought-after master, the fame of which gradually began to reach the royal palace.
Botticelli created his first own masterpiece in 1475. They became the painting, called "The Adoration of the Magi". The customer was a fairly wealthy and influential banker with connections with the then rulers of the city, with whom he introduced a talented guy. Since then, the creator was close to the ruling Medici family and carried out orders specifically for them. The main works of this period can be called the painting "Spring" and "The Birth of Venus".
Invitation to Rome and the peak of fame
Rumors of a young but very talented artist quickly spread to Rome itself, where Pope Sixtus IV called him in the early 80s. Botticelli was commissioned in collaboration with others famous personalities of his time to carry out the design of the newly erected structure, known to this day - the Sistine Chapel. Sandro took part in the creation of several famous frescoes, including "The Youth of Moses" and "The Temptation of Christ".
The very next year, Botticelli returned to his native Florence, the probable cause of which was the death of his father. Although at the same time he was literally overloaded with orders in his hometown.
In the mid-80s of the 15th century, Botticelli was at the peak of his fame: there were so many orders that the artist simply did not have time to paint all the pictures on his own. Most the work was carried out by the students of the outstanding creator, and Botticelli himself was engaged only in the creation of the most complex elements of the compositions. Among the most famous works artist, which were created by him in the 80s, are "Annunciation", "Venus and Mars" and "Madonna Magnificat".
Late creativity
Serious trials in life befell the creator in the 90s, when he lost his beloved brother, from whom he got such a funny nickname. A little later, the artist began to doubt whether all his activities were justified.
It all coincided with extremely important events which led to the overthrow of the Medici dynasty. Savonarola came to power, fiercely criticizing the wastefulness and venality of the former rulers. He was also dissatisfied with the papacy. The power of this ruler was provided by popular support, Botticelli also went over to his side, but Savonarola did not rule for long: just a few years later he was deposed from the throne and burned alive at the stake.
Sad events deeply hurt the painter. Many at that time said that Botticelli was one of the "converts", which could be judged from the latest works of the creator. It was this decade that became decisive in the life of the artist.
Last years of life and death
In the last 10-12 years of his life, the glory of the great painter began to gradually fade away, and Botticelli could only remember about his former popularity. Contemporaries who found him in the last years of his life wrote about him that he was completely poor, moved on crutches and no one cared about him in the slightest. Botticelli's last works, including the "Mystical Nativity" of 1500, were not popular, and no one turned to him about commissioning new paintings. Indicative was the case when the then queen, when choosing artists to fulfill her order, in every possible way rejected the proposals of Botticelli.
The once famous painter died in 1510, all alone and poor. He was buried in a cemetery near one of the Florentine churches. Together with the creator himself, the glory of him completely died, which was revived only in the final decades of XIX century.
There are several paintings that people associate with the Renaissance. These paintings are world famous and have become real symbols of that time. To write most of the paintings, the artists invited people whose names have not reached us as sitters. They just looked like the characters the artist wanted, that's all. And therefore, no matter how much we are interested in their fate, now almost nothing is known about them.
Sandro Botticelli and his "Venus" by Simonetta Vespucci
An example of this is the famous painting by Michelangelo, which adorns the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, "The Creation of Adam", or the creation of the same author - the statue of David. Now it is no longer known who served as a model for the creation of these works.
The same is with the famous painting by Leonardo da Vinci "Mona Lisa". Now there are many rumors that Lisa Gerardini was the type to write, but in this version there is more doubt than certainty. And the very mystery of the picture is more likely connected with the very personality of Leonard da Vinci than with his model.
However, against the backdrop of all this uncertainty, the history of the creation famous painting Sandro Botticelli "The Birth of Venus" and the model that served as the prototype of Venus is quite clear. She was Simonetta Vespucci, a recognized beauty of that era. Unfortunately, the picture was not painted from nature, because by this time Botticelli's muse was already dead.
Botticelli was born in Florence and all his life he was patronized by the most influential family in the city of that time - the Medici. Simonetta also lived in the same city, her maiden name was Cattaneo, she was the daughter of a Genoese nobleman. Simonetta, at the age of sixteen, married Marco Vespucci, who fell in love with her without memory and was well received by her parents.
All the men of the city went crazy with the beauty and kind nature of Simonetta, even the brothers Giuliano and Lorenzo Medici fell under her charm. As a model for the artist Sandro Botticelli, Simonetta was offered by the Vespucci family itself. For Botticelli, this was a fatal meeting, he fell in love with his model at first sight, she became his muse. At the same time, at the jousting tournament held in 1475, Giuliano de Medici performed with a flag, which also depicted a portrait of Simonetta by Botticelli's hand with an inscription in French meaning "Incomparable". After his victory in this tournament, Simonetta was declared the "Queen of Beauty", and the fame of her as the most beautiful woman in Florence spread throughout Europe.
And as mentioned above, unfortunately Simonetta died soon after, in 1476 at the age of only 23, presumably from tuberculosis. Botticelli could never forget her and lived alone all his life, he died in 1510.
Without a doubt, the artist respected Simonetta's marriage and did not show his love in any way, except for writing many paintings with her image. So on famous painting"Venus and Mars" he portrayed characters whose resemblance to Simonetta and the author himself in the role of Mars is not questioned by anyone.
And in 1485, Botticelli painted the famous painting “The Birth of Venus”, which he dedicated to the memory of his beloved, nine years after her death. Botticelli's love was so great that he asked to be buried in the tomb where Simonetta Vespucci was buried, "at the feet" of her burial.
It is known that Botticelli wrote more than 150 works, but most of them were destroyed by representatives catholic church who accused the work of paganism and secularism. The Birth of Venus was miraculously saved, rumored to have been protected by Lorenzo de' Medici in memory of his brother and love for Simonetta.
Sandro Botticelli (Italian Sandro Botticelli, real name Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi (Italian Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi; March 1, 1445 - May 17, 1510) is a great Italian Renaissance painter, a representative of the Florentine school of painting.
Botticelli was born to Mariano di Giovanni Filipepi, a tanner, and his wife, Smeralda, in the Santa Maria Novella quarter of Florence. The nickname "Botticelli" (keg) passed to him from his older brother Giovanni, who was a fat man.
Botticelli did not come to painting right away: at first he was a student of the goldsmith master Antonio for two years (there is a version that the young man got his last name from him). In 1462 he began to study painting with Fra Filippo Lippi, in whose studio he stayed for five years. In connection with the departure of Lippi to Spoleto, he moved to the workshop of Andrea Verrocchio.
The first independent works of Botticelli - several images of the Madonnas - in terms of the manner of execution demonstrate closeness to the works of Lippi and Masaccio, the most famous are: “Madonna and Child, two angels and young John the Baptist” (1465-1470), “Madonna and Child and two angels” ( 1468-1470), Madonna in the Rose Garden (circa 1470), Madonna of the Eucharist (circa 1470).
From 1470 he had his own workshop near the Church of All Saints. The painting "Allegory of Strength" (Fortitude), written in 1470, marks the acquisition of Botticelli own style. In 1470-1472 he wrote a diptych about the history of Judith: "Return of Judith" and "Finding the body of Holofernes".
In 1472, the name Botticelli was first mentioned in the "Red Book" of the company of St. Luke. It also indicates that a student of Filippino Lippi works for him.
At the feast in honor of the saint on January 20, 1474, the painting "Saint Sebastian" was placed with great solemnity on one of the pillars in the Florentine church of Santa Maria Maggiore, which explains its elongated format.
Around 1475, the painter painted the famous painting “Adoration of the Magi” for the wealthy citizen Gaspare del Lama, in which, in addition to representatives of the Medici family, he also depicted himself. Vasari wrote: “Truly, this work is the greatest miracle, and it has been brought to such perfection in color, drawing and composition that every artist is still amazed at him.”
At this time, Botticelli becomes famous as a portrait painter. The most significant are the "Portrait of an Unknown Man with a Cosimo Medici Medal" (1474-1475), as well as portraits of Giuliano Medici and Florentine ladies.
In 1476, Simonetta Vespucci dies, according to a number of researchers, a secret love and a model for a number of paintings by Botticelli, who never married.
The rapidly spreading fame of Botticelli went beyond Florence. Since the late 1470s, the artist has received numerous commissions. “And then he won for himself ... in Florence and beyond its borders such fame that Pope Sixtus IV, who built a chapel in his Roman palace and wished to paint it, ordered to put him at the head of the work.”
In 1481, Pope Sixtus IV summoned Botticelli to Rome. Together with Ghirlandaio, Rosselli and Perugino, Botticelli frescoed the walls of the papal chapel in the Vatican, which is known as the Sistine Chapel. After Michelangelo paints the ceiling and the altar wall under Julius II in 1508-1512, she will gain worldwide fame.
Botticelli created three frescoes for the chapel: “The Punishment of Korea, Daphne and Aviron”, “The Temptation of Christ” and “The Calling of Moses”, as well as 11 papal portraits.
Botticelli attended the Platonic Academy of Lorenzo the Magnificent, where he met with Ficino, Pico and Poliziano, thereby falling under the influence of Neoplatonism, which was reflected in his paintings of secular subjects.
The most famous and most mysterious work of Botticelli is "Spring" (Primavera) (1482).
Painting together with Pallas and the Centaur (1482-1483) Botticelli and Madonna and Child unknown author was intended to decorate the Florentine palace of Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco, a representative of the Medici family.
The creation of the canvas of the painter was inspired, in particular, by a fragment from Lucretius's poem "On the Nature of Things":
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The real name of Sandro Botticelli is Alessandro di Mariano Filipepi. It is difficult to name a Renaissance artist whose name would be more associated with the history of Florence. He was born in the family of a tanner Mariano Vanni Filipepi. After the death of his father, the elder brother becomes the head of the family, a wealthy stock exchange businessman, nicknamed Botticelli (barrel), this nickname stuck to him either for his excessive addiction to wine, or because of his fullness.
At the age of fifteen or sixteen, the gifted boy enters the workshop of the famous Philippi Lippi. Having mastered the technique of fresco painting, Alessandro Botticelli (the nickname of his brother became a kind of pseudonym for the artist) enters the most famous art studio in Florence, Andrea Verocchio. In 1469, Sandro Botticelli was introduced to Tomaso Soderini, a prominent statesman of the Republic of Florence, who brought the artist together with the Medici family.
The lack of privileges provided by wealth and nobility taught Sandro from his youth to rely only on his own energy and talent in everything. The streets of Florence with their marvelous architecture and temples with statues and frescoes of the founders of the Renaissance, Giotto and Masaccio, became a real school for the "whimsical head" - young Sandro.
Seeking freedom and creativity, the painter finds it not in traditional church subjects, but where he is "overwhelmed by love and passion." Carried away and able to please, he very soon finds his ideal in the form of a teenage girl, inquisitively knowing the world. Botticelli was considered a singer of refined femininity. The artist gives all his Madonnas, as sisters, the same penetrating, thinking, charmingly irregular face.
The artist fuses together his observations of life with the impressions of ancient and new poetry. Thanks to mythological genre Italian painting becomes secular and, breaking out of the walls of churches, enters the dwellings of people as an everyday source of enjoyment of the beautiful.
For the Medici family, Botticelli completed his most famous and major orders. Sandro never left Florence for long. An exception is his trip to Rome to the papal court in 1481-1482 for painting as part of a group of artists from the Sistine Chapel library. Returning, he continues to work in Florence. At this time, his most famous works were written - Spring, the Birth of Venus.
The political crisis in Florence, which broke out after the death of Lorenzo the Magnificent, and the militant preacher Savonarola came to spiritual power in the city, could not but affect the artist's work. Having lost moral support in the person of the Medici family, a deeply religious and suspicious person, he fell into spiritual dependence on an exalted religious and intolerant preacher. Secular motifs have almost completely disappeared from the master's work. The beauty and harmony of the world, which so excited the artist, no longer touched his imagination.
His works on religious themes are dry and overloaded with details, the artistic language has become more archaic. The execution of Savonarola in 1498 caused a deep mental crisis in Botticelli.
In the last years of his life, he completely stopped writing, considering this occupation sinful and vain.
Simonetta was one of the most beautiful women in Florence. She was married, but many young men from wealthy families dreamed of a beauty, showed her signs of special attention. She was loved by the brother of the ruler of Florence, Lorenzo Medici - Giuliano. According to rumors, Simonetta reciprocated the handsome, very gentle young man. Husband, Senor Vespucci, given the nobility and influence of the Medici family, was forced to endure such a situation. But the people of Florence, thanks to the beauty of Simonetta, her sincerity, loved the girl very much.
A young woman stands with her profile turned to us, her face clearly visible against the background of the wall. The woman is held straight and stern, with a full sense of her own dignity, and her eyes look resolutely and a little sternly into the distance. This young, light-eyed Florentine cannot be denied beauty, charm, charm. The curve of her long neck and the soft line of sloping shoulders captivate with their femininity.
Fate was harsh for Simonetta - she dies of a serious illness in her prime, at 23 years old.
The painting "Spring" introduces the viewer into an enchanted, magic garden where the heroes of ancient myths dream and dance.
Here, all ideas about the seasons are shifted. On the branches of the trees are large orange fruits. And next to the juicy gifts of the Italian summer - the first green of spring. Time has stopped in this garden to capture the eternal beauty of poetry, love, harmony in an instant.
In the middle of a flowering meadow stands Venus - the goddess of love and beauty; she is presented here as an elegant young girl. Her thin, gracefully curved figure stands out like a bright spot against the background of the dark mass of the bush, and the branches bent over her form a semicircular line - a kind of triumphal arch, created in honor of the queen of this spring holiday, which she overshadows with a blessing gesture of her hand. Cupid hovers over Venus - a playful little god, with a bandage on his eyes and, not seeing anything in front of him, he randomly shoots a burning arrow into space, designed to ignite someone's heart with love. To the right of Venus, her companions are dancing - the three graces - blond creatures in transparent white clothes that do not hide the shape of the bodies, but slightly soften it with whimsically swirling folds.
Near the dancing graces stands the messenger of the gods Mercury; he is easily recognizable by the traditional caduceus wand, with which, according to mythology, he could generously bestow people, and by the winged sandals, which gave him the ability to move from one place to another with lightning speed. A knight's helmet is put on his dark curls, a red cloak is thrown over his right shoulder, a sword with a sharply curved blade and a magnificent hilt is slung over the cloak. Looking up, Mercury raises a caduceus over his head. What does his gesture mean? What gift did he bring to the realm of spring? Perhaps he disperses the clouds with his wand so that not a single drop disturbs the garden, enchanted in its flowering.
From the depths of the thicket, past the leaning trees, the wind god Zephyr flies, embodying the elemental principle in nature. This unusual creature with bluish skin, blue wings and hair, wearing a cloak of the same color. He is chasing the young nymph of the fields Chloe. Looking back at her pursuer, she almost falls forward, but the hands of the violent wind catch and hold her. From the breath of the Zephyr, flowers appear on the lips of the nymph, breaking off, they mix with those with which Flora is strewn.
There is a wreath on the head of the goddess of fertility, a flower garland around her neck, a branch of roses instead of a belt, and all her clothes are woven with colorful flowers. Flora - the only one of all the characters goes directly to the viewer, she seems to be looking at us, but she does not see us, she is immersed in herself.
In this thoughtful melodic composition, where the fragile charm of the new Botticelli type resounded in different ways in the exquisitely transparent images of the dancing Graces, Venus and Flora, the artist offers thinkers and rulers his own version of a wise and just world order, where beauty and love rule.
Goddess of fertility - Flora.
Spring itself!
An amazing picture, creates an atmosphere of dreaminess, light sadness. The artist for the first time portrayed the naked goddess of love and beauty Venus from ancient myth. The beautiful goddess, born from sea foam, under the breeze of the wind, standing in a huge shell, glides over the surface of the sea to the shore. A nymph hurries towards her, preparing to throw a flower-decorated veil over the goddess's shoulders. Immersed in thought, Venus stands with her head bowed and her hand supporting the hair flowing along her body. Her thin spiritualized face is full of that unearthly hidden sadness. The lilac-blue cloak of Zephyr, delicate pink flowers, falling under the breath of the wind, create a rich, unique color scheme. The artist plays with the elusive play of feelings in the picture, he makes all nature - the sea, trees, winds and air - echo the melodious outlines of the body and the contagious rhythms of the movements of his golden-haired goddess.
With stormy aegean, the cradle swam through the bosom of Thetis in the midst of foamy waters.
The creation of a different sky, a face unlike people, rises
In a charming pose, looking lively, she is a young virgin. entails
Zephyr in love sinks to the shore, and their skies rejoice in their flight.
They would say: the true sea is here, and the shell with foam - as if alive,
And it can be seen - the shine of the eyes of the goddess is poured; before her with a smile the sky and verses.
There, in white, Horas walk along the shore, the wind ruffles their golden hair.
As she came out of the water, you could see, she, holding her right hand
Her hair, the other covering her nipple, at her feet are flowers and herbs
They covered the sand with fresh greenery.
(From the poem "Giostra" by Angelo Poliziano)
Beautiful Venus
Botticelli interprets the myth of the formidable god of war Mars and his beloved, the goddess of beauty Venus, in the spirit of an elegant idyll, which should have pleased Lorenzo the Magnificent, the ruler of Florence, and his entourage.
Naked Mars, freed from his armor and weapons, sleeps, spread out on a pink cloak and leaning on his shell. Leaning on a scarlet pillow, Venus rises, fixing her gaze on her lover. Myrtle bushes close the scene to the right and left, only small gaps in the sky are visible between the figures of small satyrs playing with the weapons of Mars. These goat-legged creatures with sharp long ears and tiny horns frolic around lovers. One climbed into the shell, the other put on an oversized helmet, in which his head sank, and grabbed the huge spear of Mars, helping to drag his third satyr; the fourth put a golden twisted shell to the ear of Mars, as if whispering to him dreams of love and memories of battles.
Venus really owns the god of war, it was for her sake that the weapon was left, which became unnecessary to Mars and turned into an object of fun for little satyrs.
Venus is here loving woman guarding the dream of the beloved. The pose of the goddess is calm, and at the same time, there is something fragile in her small pale face and too thin hands, and her gaze is full of almost imperceptible sadness and sadness. Venus embodies not so much the joy of love as its anxiety. The lyricism inherent in Botticelli helped him create a poetic female image. Amazing grace emanates from the movement of the goddess; she is reclining, stretching out bare foot peeking out from under transparent clothes. The white dress, trimmed with gold embroidery, emphasizes the graceful proportions of a slender, elongated body and enhances the impression of purity and restraint in the appearance of the goddess of love.
The posture of Mars testifies to the anxiety that does not leave him even in a dream. The head is strongly thrown back. On the energetic face, the play of light and shadow highlights the half-open mouth and the deep, sharp crease that crosses the forehead.
The picture was painted on a wooden board measuring 69 X 173.5 cm, it may have served as a decoration for the back of the bed. It was made in honor of the betrothal of one of the representatives of the Vespucci family.
The picture was painted in the period of the highest flowering of the artist's talent. On small picture full face depicts a young man in modest brown clothes and a red cap. For the Italian portrait of the 15th century, this was almost a revolution - until that moment, everyone who commissioned their portrait was depicted in profile or, from the second half of the century, in three-quarters. A pleasant and open young face looks from the picture. The young man has large brown eyes, a well-defined nose, plump and soft lips. Beautiful curly hair framing her face comes out from under the red cap.
The use of mixed media (the artist used both tempera and oil paints) made it possible to make the contours softer, and the light-and-shadow transitions more saturated in color.
Botticelli, like all Renaissance artists, painted the Madonna and Child many times, in a variety of subjects, poses. But all of them are distinguished by their special femininity, softness. With tenderness, the baby clung to the mother. It should be noted that, in contrast to Orthodox icons, in which the images are made flat, as if emphasizing the incorporeality of the Mother of God, in Western European paintings the Madonnas look alive, very earthly.
"Decameron" - from the Greek "ten" and "day". This is a book consisting of the stories of a group of noble youths from Florence who left to escape the plague to a country villa. Settled in a church, they tell ten stories for ten days to amuse themselves in forced exile.
Sandro Botticelli, commissioned by Antonio Pacchi, painted a series of paintings based on a story from the Decameron - "The Story of Nastagio degli Onesti" for his son's wedding.
The story tells how a rich and well-born young man Nastagio fell in love with an even more well-born girl, unfortunately endowed with an absurd character and exorbitant pride. To forget the proud, he leaves his native Ravenna and leaves for the nearby town of Chiassi. Once, while walking with a friend through the forest, he heard loud screams and a woman's cry. And then I saw with horror how a beautiful naked girl was running through the forest, followed by a rider on a horse with a sword in his hand, threatening the girl with death, and the dogs were tearing the girl from both sides...
Nastagio was frightened, but, taking pity on the girl, he overcame his fear and rushed to help her and, grabbing a branch from a tree, went to the rider. The rider shouted: "Don't bother me, Nastagio! Let me do what this woman deserves!" And he said that once, a very long time ago, he loved this girl very much, but she caused him a lot of grief, so that from her cruelty and arrogance he killed himself. But she did not repent, and soon she herself died. And then those from above imposed such a punishment on them: he constantly catches up with her, kills, and takes out her heart, throwing it to the dogs. After some time, she crawls away, as if nothing had happened, and the chase begins again. And so every day, at the same time. Today, Friday, at this hour, he always catches up with her here, on other days - in another place.
Nastagio thought and understood how to teach his beloved a lesson. He called all his relatives and friends to this forest, at this hour, next Friday, he ordered rich tables to be arranged and set. When the guests arrived, he put his beloved proud woman with her face right where the unfortunate couple should appear from. And soon there were exclamations, crying, and everything repeated ... The horseman told the guests everything, as Nastagio had told before. The guests looked at the execution in amazement and horror. And the girl Nastagio thought and realized that the same punishment could await her. Fear suddenly gave rise to love for the young man.
Shortly after Nastagio's cruel performance, the girl sent an attorney with consent to the wedding. And they lived happily, in love and harmony.
The composition is two-dimensional. The Annunciation is the most fantasy story from all gospel stories. The "Annunciation" - the good news - is unexpected and fabulous for Mary, like the very appearance of a winged angel in front of her. It seems that another moment, and Mary will collapse at the feet of the archangel Gabriel, ready to cry himself. The drawing of the figures depicts violent tension. Everything that happens is in the nature of anxiety, gloomy despair. The picture was created in the last period of Botticelli's work, when he hometown Florence fell out of favor with the monks when all of Italy was threatened with death - all this put a gloomy shade on the picture.
Through the mythological plot, Botticelli conveys in this picture the essence of the moral qualities of people.
King Midas sits on the throne, two insidious figures - Ignorance and Suspicion - whisper dirty slander into his donkey's ears. Midas listens with his eyes closed, and in front of him stands an ugly man in black - this is Malice, which always guides the actions of Midas. Slander is nearby - a beautiful young girl with an appearance of pure innocence. And next to her are two beautiful constant companions of Slander - Envy and Falsehood. They weave flowers and ribbons into the girl's hair so that Slander will always be favorable to them. Anger draws to Midas Slander, which was the favorite of the king. She herself, with all her might, pulls the Victim to the court - a half-naked unfortunate young man. It is easy to understand what the judgment will be.
On the left, two more unnecessary figures stand alone - Repentance - an old woman in dark "funeral" clothes and Truth - naked, and knowing everything. She turned her gaze to God and stretched out her hand.
The Magi are the wise men who, having heard the good news about the birth of the baby Christ, hastened to the Mother of God and her great son with gifts and wishes of goodness and long-suffering. All space is filled with sages - in rich clothes, with gifts - they all yearn to witness a great event - the birth of the future Savior of mankind.
The sage bowed down on his knees before the Mother of God and reverently kisses the hem of little Jesus' garment.
Before us is Giuliano Medici - younger brother ruler of Florence - Lorenzo the Magnificent. He was tall, slender, handsome, agile and strong. He was passionately fond of hunting, fishing, horses, loved to play chess. Of course, he could not outshine his brother in politics, diplomacy or poetry. But Giuliano loved Lorenzo very much. The family dreamed of making a cardinal out of Giuliano, but this intention was not realized.
Giuliano led a lifestyle that corresponded to the requirements of the time and the position of the Medici. The Florentines long remembered his robe of silver brocade adorned with rubies and pearls when, as a youth of sixteen, he performed at one of these festivals.
The most beautiful girls in Florence fell in love with him, but Giuliano accompanied only one everywhere - Simonetta Vespucci. Although the girl was married, this did not stop her from reciprocating the charming Giuliano. Giuliano's love for Simonetta was sung in a poem by Poliziano, and early death turned their relationship into a romantic legend.
Like Simonetta, Giuliano passed away early. But not from illness, but was killed during an attack on Florence by adherents of the Pope - the Pazzi family. Right in the cathedral, in the crowd, during the service, the insidious killers attacked the patriots of Florence, creating a stampede. Of course, they wanted to kill Lorenzo first of all, but he managed to escape, but Giuliano was not lucky, he was killed by an evil, insidious hand.
In the portrait, the artist created a spiritual image of Giuliano Medici, marked by sadness and doom. The head of a young man with dark hair is turned in profile and stands out against the background of the window. The young man's face is significant and beautiful: a high clean forehead, a thin hooked nose, a sensual mouth, a massive chin. The eyes are covered with a heavy semicircle of the eyelids, in the shadow of which the glance barely flickers. The artist emphasizes the pallor of his face, the bitter fold of his lips, a slight wrinkle crossing the bridge of his nose - this enhances the impression of hidden sadness. penetrating the face of Giuliano. Simplicity colors, consisting of red, brown and gray-blue, corresponds to the overall restraint of the composition and the image itself.
Botticelli, Sandro (Filipepi, Alessandro di Mariano). Genus. 1445, Florence - d. 1510, ibid.
Sandro Botticelli is one of the most famous Florentine painters of the late 15th century. His art, designed for educated connoisseurs, imbued with motifs of Neoplatonic philosophy, was not appreciated for a long time. For about three centuries, Botticelli was almost forgotten, until mid-nineteenth century, interest in his work did not revive, which does not fade to this day. Writers of the turn of the XIX-XX centuries. (R. Sizeran, P. Muratov) created a romantic and tragic image of the artist, which has since firmly established itself in the minds. But the documents of the late XV - early XVI centuries do not confirm such an interpretation of his personality and do not always confirm the biography of Sandro Botticelli, written by Vasari.
Self-portrait of Sandro Botticelli. Detail of the painting "The Adoration of the Magi". OK. 1475
Sandro Filipepi (this is the real name of the master) was younger son tanner Mariano Filipepi, who lived in the parish of the Church of All Saints (Ognisanti). Two Botticelli brothers - Giovanni and Simone - were engaged in trade, the third - Antonio - in jewelry. The brothers' trading activities are associated with the origin of Sandro's nickname - "botticelle" ("barrel"). However, Vasari reports that this was the name of the godfather of the artist's father, Mariano, a jeweler, to whom Sandro was sent for training. There is another version, perhaps the closest to the truth, according to which the nickname passed to Sandro Botticelli from brother Antonio, and it means a distorted Florentine word " battigello"-" silversmith.
Around 1464 Sandro entered the workshop famous artist fra Filippo Lippi on the recommendation of his neighbor, the head of the Vespucci family. Botticelli remained there until the beginning of 1467. There is evidence that from the spring of 1467 he began to visit the workshop Andrea Verrocchio , and from 1469 he worked independently, initially at home, and then in a rented workshop. By 1470, the first work undoubtedly belonging to Botticelli, “The Allegory of Power” (Florence, Uffizi), belongs. It was part of the Seven Virtues series (the rest are Piero Pollaiolo) for the Chamber of the Merchant Court. A student of Botticelli soon became famous later Filippino Lippi, son of Fra Filippo, who died in 1469. January 20, 1474 on the occasion of the feast of St. Sebastian in the church of Santa Maria Maggiore in Florence, a painting by Sandro Botticelli "Saint Sebastian" was exhibited.
In the same year, Sandro Botticelli was invited to Pisa to work on the frescoes of Camposanto. For some unknown reason, he did not fulfill them, but in the Cathedral of Pisa he painted the fresco “Ascension of Our Lady”, which died in 1583. In the 1470s, Botticelli became close to the Medici family and the “medical circle” - Neoplatonist poets and philosophers (Marsilio Ficino, Pico della Mirandola , Angelo Poliziano). January 28, 1475 brother Lorenzo the Magnificent Giuliano took part in a tournament in one of the Florentine squares with a standard painted by Botticelli (not preserved). After the failed Pazzi conspiracy to overthrow the Medici (April 26, 1478), Botticelli, commissioned by Lorenzo the Magnificent, executed a fresco over the gates of della Dogana, which led to the Palazzo Vecchio. It depicted the hanged conspirators (this painting was destroyed on November 14, 1494 after the flight of Piero de Medici from Florence).
To the number the best works Sandro Botticelli of the 1470s refers to the "Adoration of the Magi", where the images of the eastern sages and their retinue show members of the Medici family and persons close to them. At the right edge of the picture, the artist also depicted himself.
Sandro Botticelli. Adoration of the Magi. OK. 1475. In the lower right corner of the picture, the artist depicted himself standing
Between 1475 and 1480 Sandro Botticelli created one of the most beautiful and mysterious works- painting "Spring". It was intended for Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco Medici, with whom Botticelli had friendly relations. The plot of this picture, which combines the motives of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, has not been fully explained so far and is obviously inspired by both Neoplatonic cosmogony and events in the Medici family.
Sandro Botticelli. Spring. OK. 1482
The early period of Botticelli's work is completed by the fresco "St. Augustine" (1480, Florence, Ognisanti Church), commissioned by the Vespucci family. She makes a couple of Domenico's compositions Ghirlandaio"St. Jerome" in the same temple. The soulful passion of the image of Augustine contrasts with the prosaism of Jerome, clearly demonstrating the differences between the deep, emotional work of Botticelli and the solid craft of Ghirlandaio.
In 1481, along with other painters from Florence and Umbria (Perugino, Piero di Cosimo, Domenico Ghirlandaio), Sandro Botticelli was invited to Rome by Pope Sixtus IV to work in the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. He returned to Florence in the spring of 1482, having managed to write three large compositions in the chapel: "The Healing of a Leper and the Temptation of Christ", "The Youth of Moses" and "The Punishment of Korah, Dathan and Aviron".
Sandro Botticelli. Scenes from the life of Moses. 1481-1482
Sandro Botticelli. Punishment of Korah, Dathan and Aviron. Fresco in the Sistine Chapel. 1481-1482
In the 1480s, Botticelli continued to work for the Medici and other noble Florentine families, performing paintings on both secular and religious subjects. Around 1483 together with Filippino Lippi, Perugino and Ghirlandaio, he worked in Volterra at the villa of Spedaletto, which belonged to Lorenzo the Magnificent. Dates before 1487 famous painting Sandro Botticelli "The Birth of Venus" (Florence, Uffizi), made for Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco. Together with the previously created “Spring”, she became a kind of iconic image, the personification of both the art of Botticelli and the refined culture of the Medicaean court.
Sandro Botticelli. Birth of Venus. OK. 1485
The two best tondos also belong to the 1480s ( round paintings) Botticelli - "Madonna Magnificat" and "Madonna with Pomegranate" (both - Florence, Uffizi). The latter, perhaps, was intended for the audience hall in the Palazzo Vecchio.
It is believed that since the late 1480s, Sandro Botticelli was strongly influenced by the sermons of the Dominican Girolamo Savonarola, who denounced the orders of his contemporary Church and called for repentance. Vasari writes that Botticelli was an adherent of the "sect" of Savonarola and even gave up painting and "fell into the greatest ruin." Indeed, the tragic mood and elements of mysticism in many of the master's later works testify in favor of such an opinion. At the same time, the wife of Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco, in a letter dated November 25, 1495, reports that Botticelli is painting the Medici villa in Trebbio with frescoes, and July 2, 1497 from the same Lorenzo artist receives a loan for the execution of decorative paintings at the Villa Castello (not preserved). In the same 1497, more than three hundred supporters of Savonarola signed a petition to Pope Alexander VI asking him to remove the excommunication from the Dominican. Among these signatures, the name of Sandro Botticelli was not found. In March 1498 Guidantonio Vespucci invited Botticelli and Piero di Cosimo to decorate his new house on Via Servi. Among the paintings that adorned him were " History of the Roman Virginia"(Bergamo, Carrara Academy) and" History of the Roman woman Lucretia"(Boston, Gardner Museum). Savonarola was burned that same year on May 29, and there is only one direct evidence of Botticelli's serious interest in his person. Almost two years later, on November 2, 1499, Sandro Botticelli's brother Simone wrote in his diary: “Alessandro di Mariano Filipepi, my brother, one of the best artists that were in these times in our city, in my presence, sitting at home by the hearth, about three o'clock in the morning, told how that day, in his boat in the house, Sandro talked with Doffo Spini about the case of Frate Girolamo. Spini was the chief judge in the trial against Savonarola.
Sandro Botticelli. Lamentation of Christ (The Entombment). OK. 1490
The most significant late works of Botticelli include two "Deposition in the Coffin" (both after 1500; Munich, Alte Pinakothek; Milan, Poldi Pezzoli Museum) and the famous "Mystical Nativity" (1501, London, National Gallery) is the artist's only signed and dated work. In them, especially in "Christmas", they see Botticelli's appeal to the methods of medieval gothic art, primarily in violation of perspective and scale relationships.
Sandro Botticelli. Mystical Christmas. OK. 1490
However later works masters are not styling. The use of forms and techniques alien to the Renaissance artistic method, is explained by the desire to enhance emotional and spiritual expressiveness, for the transfer of which the artist did not have enough specifics of the real world. One of the most sensitive painters of the Quattrocento, Botticelli felt the impending crisis extremely early. humanistic culture Renaissance. In the 1520s, his offensive will be marked by the addition of the irrational and subjective art of Mannerism.
One of the most interesting aspects of Sandro Botticelli's work is portraiture. In this area, he established himself as a brilliant master already in the late 1460s (“Portrait of a Man with a Medal”, 1466-1477, Florence, Uffizi; “Portrait of Giuliano Medici”, c. 1475, Berlin, State Assembly). In the best portraits of the master, the spirituality and refinement of the appearance of the characters are combined with a kind of hermeticism, sometimes closing them in arrogant suffering (“Portrait of a Young Man”, New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art).
Sandro Botticelli. Portrait of a young woman. After 1480
One of the most magnificent draftsmen of the 15th century, Botticelli, according to Vasari, painted a lot and "exceptionally well." Contemporaries highly valued his drawings, and in many workshops of Florentine artists they were kept as samples. So far, very few of them have survived, but the skill of Botticelli as a draftsman can be judged by a unique series of illustrations for " Divine Comedy» Dante. Executed on parchment, these drawings were intended for Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco Medici. Dante Sandro Botticelli turned to illustration twice. First small group drawings (not preserved) was made by him, obviously, in the late 1470s, and on it Baccio Baldini performed nineteen engravings for the publication of the Divine Comedy in 1481. The most famous illustration of Botticelli to Dante is the drawing "Map of Hell" (La mappa dell inferno).
Sandro Botticelli. Map of Hell (Circles of Hell - La mappa dell inferno). Illustration for the "Divine Comedy" by Dante. 1480s
Botticelli began to complete the sheets of the Medici code after returning from Rome, using partly his first compositions. 92 sheets have been preserved (85 in the Cabinet of Prints in Berlin, 7 in the Vatican Library). The drawings are made with silver and lead pins, the artist then circled their thin gray line with brown or black ink. Four sheets are painted with tempera. On many sheets, the ink stroke is not finished or not done at all. It is these illustrations that especially clearly make you feel the beauty of the light, precise, nervous line of Botticelli.
Sandro Botticelli. Hell. Illustration for the "Divine Comedy" by Dante. 1480s
According to Vasari, Sandro Botticelli was "a very pleasant person and often liked to play a trick on his students and friends." “They also say,” he writes further, “that he loved above all those of whom he knew that they were zealous in their art, and that he earned a lot, but everything went to dust with him, because he was a poor manager and was careless. In the end, he became decrepit and incapacitated and walked leaning on two sticks ... "Oh financial situation Botticelli in the 1490s, that is, at the time when, according to Vasari, he had to give up painting and go bankrupt under the influence of Savonarola's sermons, documents from the State Archives of Florence partly allow judging. It follows from them that on April 19, 1494, Sandro Botticelli, together with his brother Simone, acquired a house with land and a vineyard outside the gates of San Frediano. The income from this property in 1498 was determined at 156 florins. True, since 1503 the master has been indebted for contributions to the Guild of St. Luke, but the record of October 18, 1505 reports that he has been fully repaid. The fact that the elderly Botticelli continued to enjoy fame is also evidenced by a letter from Francesco dei Malatesti, an agent of the ruler of Mantua, Isabella d "Este, who was looking for craftsmen to decorate her studio. On September 23, 1502, he tells her from Florence that Perugino is in Siena, Filippino Lippi is too burdened with orders, but there is also Botticelli, who "praise me a lot." The trip to Mantua did not take place for an unknown reason. In 1503, Ugolino Verino in the poem "De ilrustratione urbis Florentiae" named Sandro Botticelli among the best painters, comparing him with the famous artists of antiquity - Zeuxis and Apelles. On January 25, 1504, the master was part of a commission discussing the choice of a place to install Michelangelo's David. The last four and a half years of Sandro Botticelli's life are not documented. They were that sad time of decrepitude and inoperability that Vasari wrote about. The artist died in May 1510 and was buried on May 17 in the cemetery of the church of Onisanti, according to the records " Books of the Dead» Florence and the same book of the workshop of doctors and pharmacists.
Other works by Botticelli:“Madonna and Child” (c. 1466, Paris, Louvre), “Madonna and Child in Glory”, “Madonna del Roseto” (both - 1469-1470, Florence, Uffizi), “Madonna and Child with St. John the Baptist" (c. 1468, Paris, Louvre), "Madonna and Child with Two Angels" (1468-1469, Naples, Capodimonte), "St. interview" (c. 1470, Florence, Uffizi), "Adoration of the Magi" (c. 1472, London, National Gallery), "Madonna of the Eucharist" (c. 1471, Boston, Gardner Museum), "Adoration of the Magi", tondo (c. . 1473, London, National Gallery), "Discovery of the body of Holofernes", "Return of Judith to Vetilue" (both - c. 1473, Florence, Uffizi), "Portrait of Giuliano Medici" (Washington, National Gallery), "Portrait of a Young Man" (c. 1477, Paris, Louvre), Madonna and Child with Angels, Tondo (c. 1477, Berlin, State Assemblies), Lorenzo Tornabuoni and the Seven Liberal Arts, Giovanna degli Albizzi and Virtues - frescoes of the Villa Lemmi (1480, Paris, Louvre), " Female portrait"(1481-1482, London, private collection), "The Adoration of the Magi" (1481-1482, Washington, National Gallery), "Pallas and the Centaur" (1480-1488, Florence, Uffizi), a series of four paintings based on the plot of Boccaccio's short story about Nastagio degli Onesti (1483, three - Madrid, Prado, one - London, private collection), "Venus and Mars" (1483, London, National Gallery), "Portrait of a Boy" (1483, London, National Gallery), "Madonna with Child (1483, Milan, Poldi Pezzoli Museum), Madonna and Child with Two Saints (1485, Berlin, State Assembly), Madonna and Child with Saints (Pala San Barnaba), Coronation of Our Lady "," The Annunciation "(all - c. 1490, Florence, Uffizi), "Portrait of Lorenzo Lorenziano" (c. 1490, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Academy), "Madonna and Child with St. John the Baptist” (c. 1490, Dresden, Old Masters Picture Gallery), “Adoration of the Child” (c. 1490-1495, Edinburgh, National Gallery of Scotland), “St. Augustine" (1490-1500, Florence, Uffizi), "Slander" (1495, ibid), "Madonna and Child with Angels", tondo (Milan, Pinacoteca Ambrosiana), "Annunciation" (Moscow, Pushkin Museum), "St. Jerome", "St. Dominic” (St. Petersburg, State Hermitage Museum), “Transfiguration” (c. 1495, Rome, Pallavicini collection), “Abandoned” (c. 1495, Rome, Rospigliosi collection), “Judith with the Head of Holofernes” (c. 1495, Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum), four compositions on the history of St. Zenobia (1495-1500; two - London, National Gallery, one - New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, one - Dresden, Art Gallery of Old Masters), "Prayer for the Cup" (c. 1499, Granada, Royal Chapel), "Symbolic Crucifixion ”(1500-1505, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Fogg Art Museum).
Literature about Botticelli: Vasari 2001. Vol. 2; Dakhnovich A.S. The work of Botticelli and eternal questions. Kyiv, 1915; Burnson b. Florentine painters of the Renaissance. M., 1923; Grashchenkov V. N. Botticelli. M., 1960; Botticelli: Sat. creative materials. M., 1962; Paslo D. Botticelli. Budapest, 1962; Smirnova I. Sandro Botticelli. M., 1967; Kustodieva T. K. Sandro Botticelli. L., 1971; Dunaev G.S. Sandro Botticelli. M., 1977; Kozlova S. Dante and Renaissance Artists // Dante's Readings. M., 1982; Sonina T.V."Spring" Botticelli // Italian collection. SPb., 1996. Issue. 1; Sonina T.V. Botticelli's drawings for Dante's Divine Comedy: Traditional and original // A book in the culture of the Renaissance. M., 2002; Ulmann H. Sandro Botticelli. Munich, 1893; Warburg A. Botticellis "Geburt der Venus" und Frühling": Eine Untersuchung über die Vorschtellungen von der Antike in der italienischen Frührenaissance. Hamburg; Leipzig, 1893; SupinoL I disegni per la "Divina Commedia" di Dante. Bologna, 1921; Venturi A. II Botticelli interprete di Dante. Firenze, 1921; Mesnil J. Sandro Botticelli. Paris, 1938; Lipmann F. Zeichnungen von Sandro Botticelli zu Dantes Gottlicher Komödie. Berlin, 1954; Salvini R. Tutta la pittura del Botticelli. Milano, 1958; ArgonG.C. Sandro Botticelli. Geneva, 1967; in C, Mandel G. L "opera completa del Botticelli. Milano, 1967; Ettlinger L. D., Ettlinger H. S. Botticelli. London, 1976; Lightbown R. Sandro Botticelli: Compi, cat. London, 1978; Baldini U. Botticelli. Firenze, 1988; Pons N. Botticelli Cat. compi. Milano, 1989; Botticelli e Dante. Milano, 1990; Gemeva C. Botticelli Cat. compi. Firenze, 1990; Botticelli. From Lorenzo the Magnificent to Savonarola. Milano, 2003.
Based on the article by T. Sonina
