Sandro botticelli biography summary forms
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Sandro Botticelli
At the height of his fame, the Florentine painter and draughtsman Sandro Botticelli was one of the most esteemed artists in Italy. His graceful pictures of the Madonna and Child, his altarpieces and his life-size mythological paintings, such as 'Venus and Mars', were immensely popular in his lifetime.
The son of a tanner, he was born Alessandro di Mariano Filipepi, but he was given the nickname 'Botticelli' (derived from the word 'botticello' meaning 'small wine cask'). Smart beyond his years, the young Botticelli became easily bored at school. He was known for his sharp wit and his love of practical jokes, and he quickly earned a reputation as a restless, hyperactive and impatient child. Fortunately, his precocious talent was recognised and he was withdrawn from school and sent to work as an apprentice.
It is thought that Botticelli first trained with Maso Finiguerra, a goldsmith, before entering the studio of the artist Fra Filippo Lippi. He began his career p
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From Medicis to Mythologies: How Sandro Botticelli Became One of History’s Most Influential Artists
It’s possible that Western art history wouldn’t have been the same without Sandro Botticelli. With members of the influential Medici family as his top patrons, Botticelli received many high-profile commissions, some of which are considered the Renaissance movement’s best achievements. Throughout the latter half of the 15th century, he produced secular portraits of Florentine elite, as well as religious and mythological scenes that defined a new era of artistic achievement. On the occasion of Sotheby’s sale this week of Botticelli’s rare single-figure portrait, A Young Man Holding a Roundel, which is expected to become one of the most expensive Old Masters artworks ever sold at auction, here is a guide to the artist’s career and seminal works.
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Early Career
Born in Florence around 1444–45, Alessandro
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Summary of Sandro Botticelli
Botticelli was perhaps the greatest humanist painter of the Early Renaissance, yet much of his life and influences remain a mystery to us today. His paintings represent the pinnacle of the cultural flourishing of the Medicis' Florence, a prosperous society that encouraged the progress of art, philosophy and literature. Throughout his long career he was commissioned to paint many different subjects, but at the heart of his work he always strove towards beauty and virtue, the qualities represented by the goddess Venus, who is the subject of many of his most famous paintings.
Accomplishments
- Influenced by the revival of Greek and Roman ideas in Florence at the time, Botticelli was one of the first Western artists since classical times to depict non-religious subject matter. The idea that art could be for pleasure, and not only serve religious purposes was a breakthrough for Western art.
- Botticelli bridged the gap between the Medieval Gothic style of