Botticelli

Sandro Botticelli
MGC
Early Life
•Born in Florence circa 1445
•Apprenticed under Filippo Lippi
•By 1470 he had his own workshop
Adoration of the Magi
Adoration of the Magi
•Painted between 1475 and 1476
•Tempera on Panel
•Commissioned by Zanobia del Lama for the church of Santa Maria Novella
•Depicts the scene following the birth of Christ; the arrival of the wise man, the magi
•Several of the Magi are depicted as Medicis, the powerful benefactors and rulers of Florence
•Explicit detail is put on the heads and faces of each of the people
•Del Lama himself is portrayed as an older man on the right with white hair; he is looking at the
observer
•Botticelli painted himself into the picture, he is the blonde man on the far right facing the
audience
Primavera
Primavera
•Painted in 1482
•Tempera on Panel
•Contains symbolism from Roman mythology; mainly the poets Ovid and Lucretius
•The Woman being snatched by the male on the far right is Chloris, the male Zephyr. Chloris
becomes Flora the goddess of Spring after this encounter
•The middle figure, which immediately draws the eye, is Venus, goddess of love
•Venus is standing in an orange grove, a symbol of Medici power and wealth
•The man on the far left is Mercury, messenger of the gods
•The three women, three graces, carry the jewels and colors of the Medici family
•smArtHistory On Primavera
Work on The Sistine Chapel
•Botticelli worked on pieces of fresco on the walls of the Sistine
Chapel
•His work is now overshadowed by Michelangelo's incredible ceiling
work
• Put Three Main Pieces in the Sistine Chapel:
• The Trial of Moses
• Punishment of the Rebels
• Temptations of Christ
The Trial of Moses
The Trial of Moses
•Painted in 1482
•Fresco located in the Sistine Chapel
•Chronicles several scenes in Moses’s life
• Moses killing an Egyptian who was harassing a Jew and fleeing to
the desert
• Moses fighting off shepherds preventing him from getting water
• Moses removing his shoes and receiving the task to lead the Jews
out of Egypt
Punishment of the Rebels
Punishment of Moses
•Painted in 1482
•Fresco located in the Sistine Chapel
•Depicts a scene of Hebrew rebellion against Moses shortly after
leaving Egpyt
•A group of rebels on the left wait to receive God’s punishment
• A parallel to the New Testament
• Meant to symbolize the Pope’s supreme authority over the church
Temptations of Christ
Temptations of Christ
•Painted in 1482
•Fresco located in the Sistine Chapel
•Represents the Gospel story of Christ being tempted by the devil after days of fasting in the
desert
•On the left, Jesus is tempted to turn bread into stones by the devil disguised as a hermit
•In the center, Jesus is taken to the top of a cathedral, representing the temple of Jerusalem, and
is tempted to leap from the top, so that God’s angels may save him
•On the upper right, Jesus is taken to a high mountain by the devil and offered the whole world of
he will bow to him
• Jesus casts the devil away, and angels come to minister to him
The Birth of Venus
The Birth of Venus
•Commissioned by the Medici Family
•Painted in 1486
•Tempera on Canvas
•Depicts the Roman goddess Venus being born on a seashell, already a full grown woman
•May be a recreation of a lost Roman work
•Venus may symbolize Eve before the fall; pure and in paradise
•The woman on the right may symbolize Mary, the new Eve, mother of Christ
•Many different theories exist on the meaning of painting, there is much controversy
•Could also be a wedding piece made to commemorate the bride
The Influences of Savonarola
•Savonarola – Radical Catholic preacher assumes power in Florence
•Decries anything pagan, calls for greater piety and religious observance among Florentines
•Botticelli, like many Florentines, followed Savonarola devoutly
•Botticelli may have taken part in his Bonfire of the Vanities – a period in which many nonChristian books and works of art were burned in order to promote a turning away from Christian
values
•Savonarola was later ousted and exiled, his ideas becoming dangerous. Those who still followed
him needed to be secretive
•After Savonarola, Botticelli’s work became devotional, rather than decorative
The Mystical Nativity
The Mystical Nativity
•Painted between 1500 and 1501
•Oil on Canvas. Two experimental materials. Possibly used to allow the painting to be rolled up
and hidden, as the ideas it contained strongly aligned with Savonarola, which was now frowned
upon in Florence
•It is Botticelli’s only signed work – He took pride in his newfound piety
•Medieval convention of Mary and Jesus being larger than any other figure is evident here
•Angels dance around the scene
•A little devil scurries around
•Botticelli believed he was living in the Tribulation – the biblical end time, due to the disarray and
chaos Florence had succumbed to during his lifetime
Private Life
•Botticelli never wed
•He was afraid of marriage
•Most likely had unrequited love for the subject of the Birth of Venus, Simonetta Vespucci
• Requested to be buried at her feet when he died
• The request was eventually carried out
End of Life
•After 1502, Botticelli had little work, and had faded into obscurity
•Became a member of the committee to decide where Michelangelo's David would stand
•His later work had distorted figures, non-naturalistic use of colors, and diminution of scale.
•Saint Zenobius