Sandro Botticelli (Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi) (1445 - 1510)
Virgin and Child with the young Saint John the Baptist, c. 1505
Tempera on canvas
Galleria Palatina, Palazzo Pitti, Florence
Botticelli’s women are renowned as the embodiments of grace, elegance, and beauty. The unique style of the Italian painter—with his idealized, elongated, buoyant figures in flowing tresses and drapery—has become emblematic of the Italian Renaissance, and his works are among the most recognizable in the world. Less well known is the fact that Botticelli, while patronized by the Medicis and famous in his own time, fell out of favor late in his life, abandoned many of his own paintings, and was almost entirely forgotten.
Sandro Botticelli (Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi) (1445 - 1510)
Virgin and Child (Madonna of the Loggia), c. 1467
Tempera on wood panel
Gallerie degli Uffizi, Florence
The theme of the Madonna and Child embracing, which was extremely widespread in the sculpture and painting of the Quattrocento, is derived from a Byzantine pictorial type. What is new here is the motif of the loggia, which still makes a rather flat impression behind the figures, although the even fall of the light is attempting to integrate it properly into the scene.
In this and a series of similar paintings, the young artist was trying out the repertoire of motifs associated with the theme of the Madonna and Child. More on this painting
A loggia is a room, hall, gallery, or porch open to the air on one or more sides; it evolved in the Mediterranean region, where an open sitting room with protection from the sun was desirable. Ancient Egyptian houses often had a loggia on their roofs or an interior loggia facing upon a court. More on a loggia
Sandro Botticelli (Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi) (1445 - 1510)
Nativity, c. 1482-1485
Tempera and oil on panel
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
In Christian theology the nativity marks the
incarnation of Jesus as the second Adam, in fulfillment of the divine will of
God, undoing the damage caused by the fall of the first man, Adam. The artistic
depiction of the nativity has been a major subject for Christian artists since
the 4th century. Since the 13th century, the nativity scene has emphasized the
humility of Jesus and promoted a more tender image of him, as a major turning
point from the early "Lord and Master" image, affecting the basic
approaches of Christian pastoral ministry. More on
the nativity
Sandro Botticelli (Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi) (1445 - 1510)
The Adoration of the Magi, c. 1470-75
Tempera on panel
111 x 134 cm
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence
The Adoration of the Magi (anglicized from the Matthean Vulgate Latin section title: A Magis
adoratur) is the name traditionally given to the subject in the Nativity of
Jesus in art in which the three Magi, represented as kings, especially in the
West, having found Jesus by following a star, lay before him gifts of gold,
frankincense, and myrrh, and worship him. The Adoration of the Magi
Sandro Botticelli (Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi) (1445 - 1510)
Virgin and Child with Saint John the Baptist, c. 1490
Tempera on panel
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
This painting, intended for private devotion, possesses characteristics of Botticelli’s later manner-a certain stiffness in the profiles and drapery folds, a continued elegance as in the hands of the Virgin and Saint John, and such improvised details as the free painting of roses on top of the lilies originally sketched at right. More on this painting
Sandro Botticelli (Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi) (1445 - 1510)
Mystic Crucifixion, c. 1500
Tempera and oil on canvas, (transferred from panel)
Harvard Art Museums
In the 1490s, Florence came under the sway of the magnetic Dominican preacher Girolamo Savonarola. The century had been one of unprecedented innovations in art and literature, but also of loosening social mores and rampant church corruption. Savonarola railed against immorality and unorthodoxy, warning that Judgment Day was imminent and that Florence would be punished for its sins.
In this painting Botticelli incorporates themes from Savonarola’s incendiary sermons. Firebrands and weapons rain down from black storm clouds, and an angel of justice raises his sword to slay the marzocco, the small lion that is the emblem of Florence. The purified city is shown in the background, bathed in light emanating from God the Father, as white angels chase the clouds away. Mary Magdalene desperately clutches the foot of the cross, while a wolf, symbolizing clerical vice, flees from under her robe. More on this painting
Sandro Botticelli (Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi) (1445 - 1510)
Lamentation
Tempera on panel, about 1490-1492
140 x 207 cm
Alte Pinakothek, Munich, Germany
The Lamentation over the Dead Christ, is a painting of the common subject of the Lamentation of Christ finished around 1490-1492.
The portrait shows the inert body of Christ surrounded by the Virgin, St. Peter, and Mary Magdalene, St. John the Evangelist, St. Jerome and St. Paul.
The pathetic expressions of the characters were a novelty in Botticelli's art: under the spiritual influence of Savonarola's preachings in Florence, which began around the time the work was executed, he started in fact to abandon the allegoric inspiration that had made him a favourite of the Medici court in favour of more intimate and painstaking religious reflection. More on this painting
Sandro Botticelli (Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi) (1445 - 1510)
Virgin and Child (Madonna of the Book), c. 1478-80
Tempera on wood panel
Museo Poldi Pezzoli, Milan.
The Madonna of the Book is a work in which Mary and the Child are seated by a window in the corner of a room. She holds a Book of Hours, the prayer books for laymen common in the thirteenth to sixteenth centuries. The infant is gazing at his mother whilst she is absorbed in reading the book. The hands of both mother and son are positioned similarly, with the right hands open as in a gesture of blessing, and left hands closed.
Symbolizing the Passion of Christ, the Christ Child is holding the three nails of the cross, and the crown of thorns. These are probably later additions, added to make the message more explicit. This is the conventional representation in the Christian iconography. In addition, the fruit in the bowl has an emblematic meaning. The cherries represent the blood of Christ or are an allusion to Paradise, plums indicate the tenderness between Mary and the Child, and the figs are characteristic of the Resurrection.
Mary's blue robe has the symbolic meanings of purity, heaven, and royalty In this painting, as in Botticelli's other large series, the Madonna is portrayed as being serious, thoughtful and focused. More on this painting
Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi,
known as Sandro Botticelli (1445 –1510), was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance. He belonged
to the Florentine School. Botticelli's posthumous reputation suffered
until the late 19th century; since then, his work has been seen to represent
the linear grace of Early Renaissance painting.
Botticelli was born in Florence. He was initially trained as a
goldsmith. There are very few details of Botticelli's life, but it is known
that he became an apprentice when he was about fourteen years old. By 1462 he
was apprenticed to Fra Filippo Lippi; many of his early works have been
attributed to the elder master, and attributions continue to be uncertain.
Influenced also by the monumentality of Masaccio's painting, it was from Lippi
that Botticelli learned a more intimate and detailed manner.
By 1470, Botticelli had his own workshop. His work was characterized
by a conception of the figure as if seen in low relief, drawn with clear
contours, and minimizing strong contrasts of light and shadow which would
indicate fully modelled forms.
In the mid-1480s, Botticelli worked on a major fresco cycle for
Lorenzo the Magnificent's villa near Volterra; in addition he painted many
frescoes in Florentine churches. In 1491 he served on a committee to decide
upon a façade for the Cathedral of Florence.
Botticelli never wed, and expressed a strong disliking to
the idea of marriage, a prospect he claimed gave him nightmares. More on Sandro
Botticelli
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