The Works of Sandro Botticelli
Painter Sandro Botticelli is one of the most distinguished Italian artists from the Early Renaissance.
He belonged to the Florentine school, which emphasized the naturalistic style of art developed by Giotto di Bondone.
The Primavera and The Birth of Venus are considered Botticelli's masterpieces.
Also known as Allegory of Spring, the former was produced for Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de' Medici's townhouse in Florence.
It depicts six female and two male figures, as well as a blindfolded putto, at an orange grove.
The painting was said to have been inspired by Ovid's description of the arrival of spring.
Lucretius' poem, De rerum natura, may also have been another influence.
The artist's ideal of feminine beauty is shown in The Birth of Venus, which shows the goddess emerging from the sea as a fully grown woman.
The central figure in the painting resembles Praxitales' sculpture of Aphrodite, while the pose is similar to that of Venus de' Medici, a marble sculpture in the Medici collection.
Another of Botticelli's works is the Adoration of the Magi.
The painting was commissioned by a banker named Gaspare di Zanobi del Lama.
Several members of the Medici family are present in the depiction.
These include Cosimo de Medici, his sons Piero and Giovanni, and his grandsons Giuliano and Lorenzo.
Currently displayed in London's National Gallery, the oil-on-canvas Mystical Nativity was completed around 1500 to 1501.
The artist's only signed artwork, it shows the birth of Jesus in a stable surrounded by his earthly parents, the angels, shepherds, wise men and barn animals.
The painting is rich with symbolisms and while some have already been interpreted by scholars, many still remain a mystery to this day.
He belonged to the Florentine school, which emphasized the naturalistic style of art developed by Giotto di Bondone.
The Primavera and The Birth of Venus are considered Botticelli's masterpieces.
Also known as Allegory of Spring, the former was produced for Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de' Medici's townhouse in Florence.
It depicts six female and two male figures, as well as a blindfolded putto, at an orange grove.
The painting was said to have been inspired by Ovid's description of the arrival of spring.
Lucretius' poem, De rerum natura, may also have been another influence.
The artist's ideal of feminine beauty is shown in The Birth of Venus, which shows the goddess emerging from the sea as a fully grown woman.
The central figure in the painting resembles Praxitales' sculpture of Aphrodite, while the pose is similar to that of Venus de' Medici, a marble sculpture in the Medici collection.
Another of Botticelli's works is the Adoration of the Magi.
The painting was commissioned by a banker named Gaspare di Zanobi del Lama.
Several members of the Medici family are present in the depiction.
These include Cosimo de Medici, his sons Piero and Giovanni, and his grandsons Giuliano and Lorenzo.
Currently displayed in London's National Gallery, the oil-on-canvas Mystical Nativity was completed around 1500 to 1501.
The artist's only signed artwork, it shows the birth of Jesus in a stable surrounded by his earthly parents, the angels, shepherds, wise men and barn animals.
The painting is rich with symbolisms and while some have already been interpreted by scholars, many still remain a mystery to this day.
