Sandro botticelli timeline of history

The Annunciation. The Return of Judith to Bethulia. The Story of Lucretia. The Story of Nastagio degli Onesti. The Trials of Moses. Virgin and Child with an Angel. Christ Carrying the Cross. Christ Crowned with Thorns. Giuliano de Medici. Lamentation over the Dead Christ II. Last Communion of St Jerome. Madonna and Child II. Madonna and Child with Six Saints.

Madonna and Child with Two Angels. Portrait of a Man II. Portrait of a Young Man I. Portrait of a Young Man II. Portrait of a Young Woman II. Portrait of Dante. Portrait of Simonetta Vespucci. Scene from the Life of Moses. Sixtus II. St Augustine in his Cell. Botticelli differs from his colleagues in imposing a more insistent triptych -like composition, dividing each of his scenes into a main central group with two flanking groups at the sides, showing different incidents.

Of those surviving, most scholars agree that ten were designed by Botticelli, and five probably at least partly by him, although all have been damaged and restored. The Punishment of the Sons of Corah contains what was for Botticelli an unusually close, if not exact, copy of a classical work. This is the rendering in the centre of the north side of the Arch of Constantine in Rome, which he repeated in about in The Story of Lucretia.

He had perhaps been away from July to, at the latest, May The masterpieces Primavera c. They are among the most famous paintings in the world, and icons of the Italian Renaissance. As depictions of subjects from classical mythology on a very large scale they were virtually unprecedented in Western art since classical antiquity.

Together with the smaller and less celebrated Venus and Mars and Pallas and the Centaurthey have been endlessly analysed by art historianswith the main themes being: the emulation of ancient painters and the context of wedding celebrations, the influence of Renaissance Neo-Platonismand the identity of the commissioners and possible models for the figures.

Though all carry differing degrees of complexity in their meanings, they also have an immediate visual appeal that accounts for their enormous popularity. All show dominant and beautiful female figures in an idyllic world of feeling, with a sexual element. Continuing scholarly attention mainly focuses on the poetry and philosophy of contemporary Renaissance humanists.

The works do not illustrate particular texts; rather, each relies upon several texts for its significance. Their beauty was characterized by Vasari as exemplifying "grace" and by John Ruskin as possessing linear rhythm. The pictures feature Botticelli's linear style at its most effective, emphasized by the soft continual contours and pastel colours.

The Primavera and the Birth were both seen by Vasari in the midth century at the Villa di Castelloowned from by Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de' Medici, and until the publication in of a Medici inventory of[ 48 ] it was assumed that both works were painted specifically for the villa. Recent scholarship suggests otherwise: the Primavera was painted for Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco's townhouse in Florence, and The Birth of Venus was commissioned by someone else for a different site.

Botticelli painted only a small number of mythological subjects, but these are now probably his best known works. A much smaller panel than those discussed before is his Venus and Mars in the National Gallery, London. This was of a sandro botticelli timeline of history and shape to suggest that it was a spallieraa painting made to fitted into either furniture, or more likely in this case, wood panelling.

The wasps buzzing around Mars' head suggest that it may have been painted for a member of his neighbours the Vespucci family, whose name means "little wasps" in Italian, and who featured wasps in their coat of arms. Mars lies asleep, presumably after lovemaking, while Venus watches as infant satyrs play with his military gear, and one tries to rouse him by blowing a conch shell in his ear.

The painting was no doubt given to celebrate a marriage, and decorate the bedchamber. Three of these four large mythologies feature Venusa central figure in Renaissance Neoplatonismwhich gave divine love as important a place in its philosophy as did Christianity. The fourth, Pallas and the Centaur is clearly connected with the Medici by the symbol on Pallas' dress.

The two figures are roughly life-size, and a number of specific personal, political or philosophic interpretations have been proposed to expand on the basic meaning of the submission of passion to reason. A series of panels in the form of an spalliera or cassone were commissioned from Botticelli by Antonio Pucci in on the occasion of the marriage of his son Giannozzo with Lucrezia Bini.

The subject was the story of Nastagio degli Onesti from the eighth novel of the fifth day of Boccaccio 's Decameronin four panels.

Sandro botticelli timeline of history

The coats of arms of the Medici and the bride and groom's families appear in the third panel. Botticelli returned from Rome in with a reputation considerably enhanced by his work there. As with his secular paintings, many religious commissions are larger and no doubt more expensive than before. By the mids, many leading Florentine artists had left the city, some never to return.

The rising star Leonardo da Vinciwho scoffed at Botticelli's landscapes, [ 55 ] left in for Milanthe Pollaiolo brothers in for Rome, and Andrea Verrochio in for Venice. The remaining leaders of Florentine painting, Botticelli, Domenico Ghirlandaio and Filippino Lippiworked on a major fresco cycle with Peruginofor Lorenzo the Magnificent 's villa at Spedalletto near Volterra.

The first major church commission after Rome was the Bardi Altarpiecefinished and framed by February[ 58 ] and now in Berlin. The frame was by no less a figure than Giuliano da Sangallowho was just becoming Lorenzo il Magnifico's favourite architect. An enthroned Madonna and rather large Child sit on an elaborately-carved raised stone bench in a garden, with plants and flowers behind them closing off all but small patches of sky, to give a version of the hortus conclusus or closed garden, a very traditional setting for the Virgin Mary.

Saints John the Baptist and an unusually elderly John the Evangelist stand in the foreground. Small and inconspicuous banderoles or ribbons carrying biblical verses elucidate the rather complex theological meaning of the work, for which Botticelli must have had a clerical advisor, but do not intrude on a simpler appreciation of the painting and its lovingly detailed rendering, which Vasari praised.

The donor, from the leading Bardi familyhad returned to Florence from over twenty years as a banker and wool merchant in London, where he was known as "John de Barde", [ 61 ] and aspects of the painting may reflect north European and even English art and popular devotional trends. A larger and more crowded altarpiece is the San Barnaba Altarpiece of aboutnow in the Uffizi, where elements of Botticelli's emotional late style begin to appear.

Here the setting is a palatial heavenly interior in the latest style, showing Botticelli taking a new degree of interest in architecture, possibly influenced by Sangallo. The Virgin and Child are raised high on a throne, at the same level as four angels carrying the Instruments of the Passion. Six saints stand in line below the throne.

Several figures have rather large heads, and the infant Jesus is again very large. While the faces of the Virgin, child and angels have the linear beauty of his tondos, the saints are given varied and intense expressions. Four small and rather simple predella panels survive; there were probably originally seven. With the phase of painting large secular works probably over by the late s, Botticelli painted several altarpieces, and this appears to have been a peak period for his workshop's production of Madonnas.

Botticelli's largest altarpiece, the San Marco Altarpiece x cm, Uffiziis the only one to remain with its full predellaof five panels. In the air above four saints, the Coronation of the Virgin is taking place in a heavenly zone of gold and bright colours that recall his earlier works, with encircling angels dancing and throwing flowers. In contrast, the Cestello Annunciation —90, Uffizi forms a natural grouping with other late paintings, especially two of the Lamentation of Christ that share its sombre background colouring, and the rather exaggerated expressiveness of the bending poses of the figures.

It does have an unusually detailed landscape, still in dark colours, seen through the window, which seems to draw on north European models, perhaps from prints. Of the two Lamentationsone is in an unusual vertical format, because, like his Saint Sebastianit was painted for the side of a pillar in the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore, Florence ; it is now in Milan.

The other, horizontal, one was painted for a chapel on the corner of Botticelli's street; it is now in Munich. In both the crowded, intertwined figures around the dead Christ take up nearly all the picture space, with only bare rock behind. The Virgin has swoonedand the other figures form a scrum to support her and Christ. Both probably date from to Early records mentioned, without describing it, an altarpiece by Botticelli for the Convertite, an institution for ex-prostitutes, and various surviving unprovenanced works were proposed as candidates.

It is now generally accepted that a painting in the Courtauld Gallery in London is the Pala delle Convertitedating to about — Its subject, unusual for an altarpiece, is the Holy Trinitywith Christ on the cross, supported from behind by God the Father. Angels surround the Trinity, which is flanked by two saints, with Tobias and the Angel on a far smaller scale right in the foreground.

This was probably a votive addition, perhaps requested by the original donor. The four predella scenes, showing the life of Mary Magdalenthen taken as a reformed prostitute herself, are in the Philadelphia Museum of Art. After about or Botticelli seems to have painted no more large religious paintings, though production of Madonnas probably continued.

The smaller narrative religious scenes of the last years are covered below. Paintings of the Madonna and Childthat is, the Virgin Mary and infant Jesus, were enormously popular in 15th-century Italy in a range of sizes and formats, from large altarpieces of the sacra conversazione type to small paintings for the home. They also often hung in offices, public buildings, shops and clerical institutions.

These smaller paintings were a steady source of income for painters at all levels of quality, and many were probably produced for stock, without a specific commission. Botticelli painted Madonnas from the start of his career until at least the s. He was one of the first painters to use the round tondo format, with the painted area typically some to cm across about four to five feet.

This format was more associated with paintings for palaces than churches, though they were large enough to be hung in churches, and some were later donated to them. He used the tondo format for other subjects, such as an early Adoration of the Magi in London, [ 72 ] and was apparently more likely to paint a tondo Madonna himself, usually leaving rectangular ones to his workshop.

Botticelli's Virgins are always beautiful, in the same idealized way as his mythological figures, and often richly dressed in contemporary style. Although Savonarola 's main strictures were against secular art, he also complained of the paintings in Florentine churches that "You have made the Virgin appear dressed as a whore", [ 54 ] which may have had an effect on Botticelli's style.

They are often accompanied by equally beautiful angels, or an infant Saint John the Baptist the patron saint of Florence. Some feature flowers, and none the detailed landscape backgrounds that other artists were developing. Many exist in several versions of varying quality, often with the elements other than the Virgin and Child different.

Many of these were produced by Botticelli or, especially, his workshop, and others apparently by unconnected artists. When interest in Botticelli revived in the 19th century, it was initially largely in his Madonnas, which then began to be forged on a considerable scale. In the Magnificat Madonna in the Uffizi cm or She holds the baby Jesus, and is surrounded by wingless angels impossible to distinguish from fashionably-dressed Florentine youths.

It was stored in the Friedrichshain flak tower in Berlin for safe keeping, but in Maythe tower was set on fire and most of the objects inside were destroyed. Botticelli painted a number of portraits, although not nearly as many as have been attributed to him. There are a number of idealized portrait-like paintings of women which probably do not represent a specific person several closely resemble the Venus in his Venus and Mars.

With one or two sandro botticelli timelines of history his small independent panel portraits show the sitter no further down the torso than about the bottom of the rib-cage. Women are normally in profile, full or just a little turned, whereas men are normally a "three-quarters" pose, but never quite seen completely frontally. Even when the head is facing more or less straight ahead, the lighting is used to create a difference between the sides of the face.

Backgrounds may be plain, or show an open window, usually with nothing but sky visible through it. A few have developed landscape backgrounds. These characteristics were typical of Florentine portraits at the beginning of his career, but old-fashioned by his last years. Primavera c. Through meticulous details and thoughtful composition, Botticelli invites viewers to reflect on the intersection of faith and reason.

Saint Augustine in His Study c. Through the contrast between the serene figure of Pallas Athena and the wild centaur, Botticelli explores themes of reason and restraint. It invites viewers to contemplate the eternal struggle between civilization and chaos. The Annunciation c. The Birth of Venus c. The Virgin and Child with Saint John and an Angel radiates maternal tenderness and divine grace, portraying the Virgin Mary and the Christ Child with warmth and intimacy.

The Mystical Nativity is a visionary masterpiece that combines religious devotion with mystical symbolism, portraying the Nativity scene with a sense of wonder and awe. The Mystical Nativity c. His creations persist in evoking inspiration and enchanting global audiences, thereby etching an unforgettable legacy in the annals of art history and our shared consciousness.

A shift was happening across science, culture and philosophy, and Botticelli's paintings gave form to this new vision, heralding the emergence of a modern world. In these paintings we are able to see the tensions between the Medieval and the modern, the former being predominantly Christian, with art that was largely devotional, and highly decorative and stylized; the latter rational, scientific, and glorifying the Classical art that came from what the Neoplatonists believed to have been a more culturally advanced society.

Botticelli worked alongside various other key artists of the Florentine Renaissance. With some, however, he did not get on very well. In his Libro di Pittura book on paintingLeonardo da Vinci noted that Botticelli once claimed that he did not like landscape painting because "by throwing a sponge soaked with different colors at a wall, one can make a spot in which a beautiful landscape can be seen.

At some point in the s, Botticelli leased a small country house and farm on the outskirts of Florence with his brother Simone. The artist seems to have led a bachelor life - he certainly never married. In Angelo Poliziano's Detti Piacevolihe presents an anecdote about an exchange between Botticelli and his patron Tommaso Soderini. When Soderini asked Botticelli why he was not married, Botticelli replies that he had recently dreamed that he was married, woke up feeling a deep sense of grief and then walked around the city to stop himself from falling asleep again and resuming the dream.

There is an accusation in the Florentine Archives against Botticelli fromindicating that he "kept a boy", which has led to speculation that he may have been gay or bisexual. Art historians are divided over how much should be read into this, as accusations along these lines were a common form of petty slander at the time. Many historians have also noted the homo-erotic tendencies in paintings such as St Sebastian c.

Savonarola's extremist views were also more readily accepted in Florence at the time, as the city was still reeling from the catastrophic epidemic of the Bubonic plague. Many citizens were open to the belief that this tragic episode was a punishment from God for their materialistic sandro botticelli timelines of history. This religious fervour concluded in The Burning of the Vanities on Shrove Tuesday,in which it is speculated many of Botticelli's paintings may have been lost, with his only surviving works being those that were already in the possession of the Medici.

The paintings of the s are more sombre and overtly spiritual in content, yet they are still marked by Botticelli's warmth and imaginative brilliance. Paintings such as Mystic Crucifixionand Mystic Nativity have an emotional intensity that shows a deeper understanding of the tragedy of the human condition; they also show a great deal of attention given to the settings, whether it is detailed imaginary architecture or a rustic sandro botticelli timeline of history.

What became of Botticelli during this period is debated by scholars, some believing the more overtly religious subjects of his late paintings to be further evidence that he too became a follower of Savonarola. Some suggest that he was out of work towards the end of his life, as the more scientific, humanist painters such as Leonardo da Vinci came into favor.

Vasari writes that Botticelli was feckless, and squandered the money he had made earlier in his career. Whatever the reason, he seems to have died a poor man. Botticelli died inand was buried in the chapel of the Vespucci family in the church of Ognissanti in Florence, meters away from where he grew up and lived all his life. His grave is marked by a simple circle of marble.

Botticelli's influence on the course of art history and popular culture has been significant across the centuries in a way rivaled by few other artists. His legacy begins with the artists he taught directly, such as Filippino Lippi, the son of Filippo Lippi who had trained Botticelli early in life. In an unconventional move, Botticelli finished Filippino Lippi's fresco The Adoration of the Kings it was more usual for a pupil to finish his master's work, not vice versa.

Giorgio Vasari saw Botticelli as the epitome of the "golden age" of art achieved during the time of the great patron of the arts, Lorenzo de' Medici. However, although he was famous during his lifetime, Botticelli's reputation suffered after his death for several centuries. Perhaps because Botticelli's work remained rooted in a Medieval tradition that was forsaken during the High Renaissance, his work was dismissed along with Gothic art.

So-called because it was thought at the time to be influenced by the Goths and the Vandals, who were considered to be uncultured. Another theory speculates that Botticelli's career suffered after the Medicis were forced to leave Florence, and power was usurped for a time by conservative Christian influences that denounced the decadence of the former rulers and the artists they patronised.

It was not until the 19 th century that his work was reappraised and began to be valued highly once more. The Pre-Raphaelite movement rejected the softer style of art espoused by Raphael and later artists, preferring the linearity of early Florentine Renaissance painting, and particularly praising Botticelli. Dante Gabriel Rossetti even owned a work by the artist, and wrote a sonnet dedicated to Botticelli's Primavera late s- early sbelieving the central figure to be the same woman depicted in the portrait he owned.

From the Pre-Raphaelites, Botticelli's influence spread widely across artistic movements. In addition, references to Botticelli - and particularly to The Birth of Venus c. No when Ursula Andress emerges from the sea. Content compiled and written by Anna Souter. Edited and published by The Art Story Contributors. The Art Story. Sandro Botticelli Italian Painter Born: c.

Early Renaissance. Important Art. Adoration of the Magi c. Primavera Venus and Mars c. Map of Hell c. The Birth of Venus c. Calumny of Apelles Early Training and Work.