Sandro Botticelli, whose works represent an invaluable heritage that embodies the reflections of bygone times, is an outstanding painter of the Renaissance, a bright figure among the painters of the period of Lorenzo the Magnificent.
Biography of the Italian artist
Botticelli's real name is Alessandro di Mariano Filipepi. Botticelli's nickname was inherited from his older brother and translated means “barrel.”
Florentine Sandro Botticelli, whose works are admired throughout the world, was born in 1445 into the family of a leather tanner and was the youngest son. Father Mariano Filipepi and his wife Zmeralda rented an apartment; their own workshop provided a very modest income, so the tanner dreamed of successfully settling his sons and leaving his craft. In 1458, Sandro worked as an apprentice in a jewelry workshop owned by his brother. Having become proficient in this delicate art, which requires confidence and precision in drawing, he soon became interested in painting and two years later he became an apprentice to the Florentine painter Fra Filippo Lippi, with whom he studied until the age of 22.
Botticelli's first lessons
Valuable lessons in jewelry craftsmanship were useful to the artist in the future: famous works Sandro Botticelli's works are characterized by the clarity of contour lines and the professional use of gold, used in its pure form to depict the background or as an admixture to paints. The time spent in the mentor’s workshop was productive and fun for the young man. The student became a follower of his teacher and imitated him in everything. The latter, reciprocating such sincere devotion and desire to absorb the knowledge he received as much as possible, tried to give Botticelli everything that was in his power. The style of the first teacher had a huge influence on the style of painting by Botticelli, especially on ornamental details, color and type of faces.
Next, Sandro, thirsty for new knowledge, became a visitor to the workshop of Andrea Verrocchio, an Italian sculptor and painter, a versatile person who led a team of talented aspiring artists. The atmosphere of creative search that prevailed among people of art is clearly expressed in the first works of the Florentine master: “Madonna and Child and Two Angels” and “Madonna in the Rosary.” It is in them that the experience gained by Botticelli from his teachers is clearly visible. In 1467, the Florentine decided to open his own workshop.
Major works of Sandro Botticelli: "Allegory of Force"
The artist completed his first commission in 1470 for the hall of the Commercial Court, a city institution that tried cases of economic offenses. It was a painting of the Allegory of Power, depicting a figure seated on a deep throne. Representing the embodiment of conviction and moral strength, Botticelli’s “Force” expresses instability and inner fragility with its pose.
The year 1472 for Sandro was marked by his enrollment in the association of artists - the Guild of St. Luke, which gave the painter the opportunity to legally maintain a workshop, surrounding himself with assistants. One of Botticelli's students was the son of a former teacher, Filippino Lippi.
Fame of the Florentine painter
By 1475, Sandro Botticelli, whose works were mostly written on biblical and mythological themes, had become a widely known and sought-after master. The artist painted paintings for churches, created frescoes, gradually replacing the grace and flat linearity adopted from Filippo with a new understanding of volumes and a more powerful interpretation of figures. Unlike his first teacher, whose works were characterized by a pale palette, the painter enriched his canvases with bright colors, which gradually became more and more saturated. Also, Sandro Botticelli, whose paintings embody the spirit of the Renaissance, began to use ocher shadows to convey flesh color - a technique that became a feature of his style of painting.
Famous works of Sandro Botticelli
Photos of paintings Italian artist convey the enormous talent of the Florentine, who left a bright mark on the creative heritage of his country. Many of Sandro Botticelli's works date back to the 1470s, although not all are precisely dated. The time of writing of most of them was determined through stylistic analysis.
This time period includes such paintings as “The Adoration of the Magi” (1475), “St. Sebastian" (1473), "Portrait of a Florentine Lady" (1470) and "Portrait young man"(1470). Around 1476, a portrait of Lorenzo the Magnificent's brother, Giuliano de' Medici, who was killed during the 1478 conspiracy, was painted. Botticelli was in close contact with the Medici family, the undisputed rulers of Florence. It was for Giuliano that the artist painted the banner for the 1475 tournament.
The individuality of Botticelli's style
In the works of the period of the 1470s, one can trace the gradual growth of the artistic skill of the Florentine author: the borrowed styles of other artists and stylistic fluctuations disappeared in his canvases. Botticelli developed his own writing style: the characters in his paintings are characterized by a strong structure, the contours are characterized by energy, elegance and clarity, and dramatic imagery is achieved by a combination of a strong inner mood and active action.
These components are present in the fresco “St. Augustine” (1480). The artist was strong in painting still life. The objects present in his paintings are depicted accurately and clearly, expressing the author’s ability to correctly capture the essence of form. At the same time, they do not come to the fore, focusing the viewer’s attention on the key characters. Sandro Botticelli, whose paintings are presented in the world's most famous galleries, used Gothic churches and castle walls as backgrounds, thus achieving a picturesque romantic effect.
Frescoes for the Sistine Chapel
Sandro Botticelli, whose works delight the audience, mainly received his orders in Florence. One of the most famous paintings is “Saint Sebastian”, painted for the oldest city church of Santa Maria Maggiore. The canvas, solemnly placed on one of the church columns in January 1474, firmly established itself in the artistic panorama of Florence. In 1481, Sandro Botticelli, together with Domenico Ghirlandaio and Cosimo Rosselli, received an invitation from Pope Sixtus IV to Rome to paint frescoes on the side walls of the newly erected Sistine Chapel.
In the completed works “The Healing of the Leper and the Temptation of Christ”, “The Punishment of Korah” and “Scenes from the Life of Moses”, the author masterfully solved the problem of interpreting a complex theological program: making full use of compositional effects, he interpreted it with lively, clear, light dramatic scenes.
Mythological trends in Botticelli's paintings
Returning to Florence in 1482, Sandro buried his father. After a short break, I took up painting again. This time was the peak of Botticelli’s fame: clients flocked to his workshop, so some of the orders were carried out by the master’s students, while he himself took on complex and prestigious orders.
At this time the world was seen famous works Sandro Botticelli: “Pallas and the Centaur”, “Spring”, “Venus and Mars”, “Birth of Venus”, which are among the most valuable works of the Renaissance and are true masterpieces of Western European art. The subjects of these paintings, in which the influence of ancient art and excellent knowledge of classical sculpture are clearly felt, are inspired by mythology.
"Birth of Venus"
“The Birth of Venus” symbolizes the myth of the union of matter and the life-giving spirit that breathes life into it. The improvement of the human race is embodied in the figure of Ora, holding out the cloak of modesty to the goddess - a historical moment that was very clearly and soulfully captured by the Italian master Sandro Botticelli.
The paintings, the list of which is quite extensive, in the later stages began to be characterized by signs of some mannerism, so to speak, narcissism of one’s own skill. To increase psychological expressiveness, he violates the proportions of the figures. It is known that Botticelli often commissioned sketches for engravings and textiles, but only a small part of these drawings has survived to this day.
Famous paintings by the Italian
The canvas “The Wedding of the Mother of God” (1490) is imbued with exciting anxiety, emotional concern and bright hopes. The angels depicted in the painting convey anxiety, in the gesture of St. Jerome exudes confidence and dignity. In the work one can feel a certain departure from the perfection of proportions, an increase in tension, an increase in the sharpness of color - a certain change in the style inherent in Sandro Botticelli.
The works and photographs of the paintings express a desire for deep drama, which is clearly visible in the painting “Abandoned,” the plot of which is taken from the Bible: Tamar, who was driven out by Ammon. Artistic personification this historical fact carries a universal human meaning: understanding of a woman’s weakness, sympathy for loneliness and the despair she holds back, a blank barrier in the form of a thick wall and a locked gate.
The last years of the life of the Italian artist
In 1493, Botticelli buried his beloved brother Giovanni, while Florence was saying goodbye to Lorenzo the Magnificent. In the city - the former cradle of humanistic thought - Savonaroda's revolutionary speeches were heard. came in the life of Sandro Botticelli. Paintings, the description of which is characterized by deep sadness and melancholy, express a complete decline in the author’s mood. Savonaroda's sermons about the coming end of the world led to the fact that in February 1497 the people built a huge bonfire in the central square, in which they burned valuable works of art. Some artists also succumbed to mass psychosis, among whom was Botticelli. He burned several of his sketches in the flames, although there is no exact evidence of this act. Soon Savonarola was accused of heresy and publicly executed.
Towards the end of his life, Botticelli was very lonely, became frail and very ill. According to contemporaries, the artist was able to move only with the help of crutches. Its former glory remained in the past, orders stopped coming: times changed, it was replaced new era art. The artist was never married and had no children. Sandro Botticelli died completely alone in 1510.
The painting “Portrait of a Young Man” was made by Sandro Botticelli with tempera and oil paints on wood approximately in 1483. Genre – portrait. The full-face portrait depicts a young man with a pleasant, dreamy face, large expressive […]
Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi was born in Florence into the family of a tanner. His older brother Giovanni, an incredibly fat boy, was teased as Barrel (Botticelli), and the nickname stuck with both brothers - some illiterate neighbors […]
The Italian Renaissance master Sandro Botticelli repeatedly depicted St. John the Baptist in his works. The Forerunner of Christ was one of the most popular paintings of the entire Renaissance, second in popularity only to […]
The Temptation of Christ or otherwise The Temptations of Christ (in Italian Tentazione di Cristo) is a fresco made by the great Italian Renaissance artist Sandro Botticelli. The dimensions of the painting are 345.5 by 555 cm. It was painted between […]
The great Italian Renaissance artist immortalized the Prince of Youth in many of his paintings, which were striking in their beauty. Giuliano Medici attracted the attention of many artists and poets who mentioned him in their works […]
During the years of his life, Sandro Botticelli was a famous artist, who was often approached with orders for portraits. One of those who wanted to order a portrait was Simonetta, one of the most beautiful women of the Renaissance. “Portrait […]
Botticelli is rightfully one of the most outstanding representatives of the Renaissance. The master’s initial style was received from his teacher, which is largely determined solely by color, his own type of faces and attention to […]
The painting is currently in the El Paso Museum of Art (USA). In terms of genre, it should certainly be classified as religious painting; it was painted in tempera. As for the direction of fine art, the work dates back to the Early […]
Sandro Botticelli's real name is Alessandro di Mariano Filipepi. It is difficult to name a Renaissance artist whose name would be more associated with the history of Florence. He was born into the family of tanner Mariano Vanni Filipepi. After the death of his father, his elder brother, a wealthy stock exchange businessman, nicknamed Botticelli (barrel), became the head of the family, this nickname stuck to him either because of his excessive passion for wine, or because of his obesity.
At fifteen or sixteen years old, a gifted boy enters the workshop of the famous Filippi Lippi. Having mastered the technique of fresco painting, Alessandro Botticelli (his brother’s nickname became a kind of pseudonym for the artist) entered the most famous art workshop in Florence, Andrea Verrocchio. In 1469, Sandro Botticelli was introduced to a prominent statesman Florentine Republic Tomaso Soderini, who brought the artist together with the Medici family.
From his youth, the lack of privileges provided by wealth and nobility taught Sandro to rely only on his own energy and talent in everything. The streets of Florence with their marvelous architecture and temples with statues and frescoes of the founders of the Renaissance, Giotto and Masaccio, became a real school for the “unhinged head” - young Sandro.
A painter seeking freedom and creativity finds it not in traditional church subjects, but where he is “overwhelmed by love and passion.” Passionate and able to please, he very soon finds his ideal in the image of a teenage girl inquisitively exploring the world. Botticelli was considered a singer of refined femininity. The artist gives all his Madonnas, like sisters, the same soulful, thinking, charmingly irregular face.
The artist fuses together his observations of life with impressions of ancient and modern poetry. Thanks to the mythological genre, Italian painting becomes secular and, breaking out of the walls of churches, enters people's homes as an everyday source of pleasure in beauty.
For the Medici family, Botticelli completed his most famous and largest orders. Sandro never left Florence for long. An exception is his trip to Rome to the papal court in 1481-1482 to paint as part of a group of artists in the library of the Sistine Chapel. Having returned, he continues to work in Florence. At this time his most famous works- Spring, Birth of Venus.
The political crisis in Florence, which erupted after the death of Lorenzo the Magnificent and the rise of the militant preacher Savonarola to spiritual power in the city, could not but affect the artist’s work. Having lost his moral support in the Medici family, a deeply religious and suspicious person, he fell into spiritual dependence on an exalted religious and intolerant preacher. Secular motifs have almost completely disappeared from the master’s work. The beauty and harmony of the world, which so excited the artist, no longer touched his imagination.
His works on religious themes are dry and overloaded with details, artistic language became more archaic. The execution of Savonarola in 1498 caused Botticelli a deep mental crisis.
IN last years In his life, he stopped writing altogether, considering this activity sinful and vain.
Simonetta was one of the most beautiful women in Florence. She was married, but many young men from rich families dreamed of a beauty and showed her signs special attention. The brother of the ruler of Florence, Lorenzo Medici, Giuliano, loved her. According to rumors, Simonetta reciprocated the handsome, very gentle young man. The husband, Signor Vespucci, given the nobility and influence of the Medici family, was forced to endure this situation. But the people of Florence, thanks to Simonetta’s beauty and her sincerity, loved the girl very much.
A young woman stands, turning to us in profile, her face clearly visible against the background of the wall. The woman stands straight and stern, with a full sense of her own dignity, and her eyes look decisively and slightly sternly into the distance. This young, light-eyed Florentine cannot be denied beauty, charm, charm. The curve of her long neck and the soft line of sloping shoulders captivate with their femininity.
Fate was harsh towards Simonetta - she dies of a serious illness in the prime of life, at 23 years old.
The painting “Spring” introduces the viewer to an enchanted, magical garden, where heroes of ancient myths dream and dance.
All ideas about the seasons are shifted here. There are large orange fruits on the tree branches. And next to the juicy gifts of the Italian summer - the first greenery of spring. In this garden, time stopped to capture in one moment the eternal beauty of poetry, love, harmony.
In the middle of a flowering meadow stands Venus - the goddess of love and beauty; she is presented here as an elegant young girl. Her thin, gracefully curved figure stands out as a light spot against the background of the dark mass of the bush, and the branches bent over her form a semicircular line - a kind of triumphal arch created in honor of the queen of this spring holiday, which she signs with a blessing gesture of her hand. Cupid hovers above Venus - a playful little god, he has a blindfold on his eyes and, not seeing anything in front of him, he randomly shoots a burning arrow into space, designed to ignite someone's heart with love. To the right of Venus are dancing her companions - the Three Graces - blond creatures in transparent white clothes that do not hide the shape of their bodies, but slightly soften it with whimsically swirling folds.
The messenger of the gods, Mercury, stands near the dancing graces; he is easily recognized by his traditional caduceus staff, with which, according to mythology, he could generously give gifts to people, and by his winged sandals, which gave him the ability to be transported from one place to another with lightning speed. A knight's helmet is put on his dark curls, a red cloak is thrown over his right shoulder, and on top of the cloak on a sling is a sword with a sharply curved blade and a magnificent hilt. Looking upward, Mercury raises the caduceus above his head. What does his gesture mean? What gift did he bring to the kingdom of spring? Perhaps he disperses the clouds with his wand so that not a single drop disturbs the garden enchanted in its bloom.
From the depths of the thicket, past the leaning trees, the wind god Zephyr flies, embodying the elemental principle in nature. This is an unusual creature with bluish skin, blue wings and hair, wearing a cloak of the same color. He is chasing the young nymph of the fields, Chloe. Looking back at her pursuer, she almost falls forward, but the hands of the violent wind manage to catch and hold her. From Zephyr's breath, flowers appear on the nymph's lips; when they fall off, they mix with those with which Flora is strewn.
There is a wreath on the head of the goddess of fertility, a flower garland on her neck, a branch of roses instead of a belt, and all her clothes are woven with colorful flowers. Flora is the only one of all the characters who goes straight to the viewer, she seems to be looking at us, but she does not see us, she is immersed in herself.
In this thoughtful melodic composition, where the fragile charm of the new Botticelli type sounded differently in the exquisitely transparent images of the dancing Graces, Venus and Flora, the artist offers thinkers and rulers his own version of a wise and fair world order, where beauty and love reign.
Goddess of fertility - Flora.
Spring itself!
An amazing picture that creates an atmosphere of dreaminess and light sadness. The artist first depicted the naked goddess of love and beauty Venus from ancient myth. A beautiful goddess, born from the foam of the sea, under the blowing winds, standing in a huge shell, glides along the surface of the sea to the shore. A nymph hurries towards her, preparing to throw a veil decorated with flowers over the goddess’s shoulders. Lost in thought, Venus stands with her head bowed and her hand supporting her hair flowing along her body. Her thin, spiritual face is full of that unearthly hidden sadness. Zephyr's lilac-blue cloak and delicate pink flowers, falling under the blowing winds, create a rich, unique color scheme. The artist plays with the elusive flow of feelings in the picture; he makes all of nature - the sea, trees, winds and air - echo the melodious outlines of the body and the infectious rhythms of the movements of his golden-haired goddess.
Through the stormy Aegean, the cradle floated through the womb of Thetis among the foamy waters.
The creation of a different horizon, with a face unlike people, rises
In a lovely pose, looking animated, she is a young virgin. Attracts
Marshmallow in love sinks to the shore, and the heavens rejoice in their flight.
They would say: the true sea is here, and the shell with foam is like living things,
And you can see that the goddess’s eyes are shining; Before her with a smile is the sky and poetry.
There, in white, Ora walks along the shore, the wind ruffles their golden hair.
You could see how she came out of the water, holding her right hand
His hair, the other covering his nipple, flowers and herbs at her feet
The sand was covered with fresh greenery.
(From Angelo Poliziano's poem "Giostra")
Beautiful Venus
Botticelli interprets the myth of the formidable war god Mars and his lover - the goddess of beauty Venus - in the spirit of an elegant idyll, which should have pleased Lorenzo the Magnificent, the ruler of Florence, and his entourage.
Naked Mars, freed from his armor and weapons, sleeps, stretched out on a pink cloak and leaning on his shell. Leaning on a scarlet pillow, Venus rises, fixing her gaze on her lover. Myrtle bushes close the scene to the right and left, only small gaps of sky are visible between the figures of small satyrs playing with the weapons of Mars. These goat-footed creatures with sharp long ears and tiny horns frolic around their lovers. One got into the shell, the other put on too much grand slam, in which his head sank, and grabbed the huge spear of Mars, helping to drag it to the third satyr; the fourth placed a golden twisted shell to Mars' ear, as if whispering to him dreams of love and memories of battles.
Venus truly owns the god of war; it is for her sake that weapons were left, which became unnecessary to Mars and turned into an object of fun for little satyrs.
Venus is here - loving woman, guarding the lover's sleep. The goddess’s pose is calm, and at the same time, there is something fragile in her small pale face and too thin hands, and her gaze is filled with almost imperceptible sadness and sadness. Venus embodies not so much the joy of love as its anxiety. Botticelli's characteristic lyricism helped him create a poetic female image. Amazing grace emanates from the movement of the goddess; she is reclining, her bare leg stretched out, peeking out from under her transparent clothes. The white dress, trimmed with gold embroidery, emphasizes the graceful proportions of the slender, elongated body and enhances the impression of purity and restraint of the appearance of the goddess of love.
The position of Mars indicates anxiety that does not leave him even in sleep. The head is thrown back strongly. On an energetic face, the play of light and shadow highlights a half-open mouth and a deep, sharp fold crossing the forehead.
The painting was painted on a wooden board measuring 69 x 173.5 cm; it may have served as a decoration for the headboard. It was made in honor of the betrothal of one of the representatives of the Vespucci family.
The painting was painted during the peak period of the artist’s talent. On small picture The front view shows a young man in modest brown clothes and a red cap. For the Italian portrait of the 15th century, this was almost a revolution - until that moment, everyone who ordered their portrait was depicted in profile or, from the second half of the century, in three-quarters. A pleasant and open young face looks out from the picture. The young man has large brown eyes, a well-defined nose, plump and soft lips. Beautiful curly hair is released from under the red cap, framing the face.
The use of mixed media (the artist used both tempera and oil paints) made it possible to make the contours softer and the light-and-shadow transitions more saturated in color.
Botticelli, like all Renaissance artists, painted Madonna and Child many times, in a variety of subjects and poses. But they are all distinguished by their special femininity and softness. The baby clung to his mother with tenderness. It should be said that, unlike Orthodox icons, in which the images are made flatly, as if emphasizing the incorporeality of the Mother of God, in Western European paintings the Madonnas look alive, very earthly.
"Decameron" - from the Greek "ten" and "day". This is a book consisting of the stories of a group of noble young men from Florence who left to escape the plague to a country villa. Settling in the church, they tell ten stories for ten days to entertain themselves in forced exile.
Sandro Botticelli, commissioned by Antonio Pacca for his son’s wedding, painted a series of paintings based on a story from the Decameron - “The Story of Nastagio degli Onesti”.
The story tells how a rich and well-born young man, Nastagio, fell in love with an even more well-born girl, unfortunately endowed with a quarrelsome character and exorbitant pride. To forget the proud woman, he leaves his native Ravenna and goes to the nearby town of Chiassi. Once, while walking with a friend through the forest, he heard loud screams and a woman’s cry. And then I saw with horror how a beautiful naked girl was running through the forest, and behind her a rider was galloping on a horse with a sword in his hand, threatening the girl with death, and dogs were tearing the girl from both sides...
Nastagio was frightened, but, feeling sorry for the girl, he overcame his fear and rushed to help her and, grabbing a branch from the tree in his hands, went to the horseman. The horseman shouted: “Don’t bother me, Nastagio! Let me do what this woman deserves!” And he said that once, a very long time ago, he loved this girl very much, but she caused him a lot of grief, so because of her cruelty and arrogance he killed himself. But she did not repent, and soon she died. And then those from above imposed the following punishment on them: he constantly catches up with her, kills her, and takes out her heart, throwing it to the dogs. After a little time, she crawls away as if nothing had happened and the chase begins again. And so every day, at the same time. Today, on Friday, at this hour, he always catches up with her here, on other days - in another place.
Nastagio thought about it and realized how to teach his beloved a lesson. He called all his relatives and friends to this forest, at this hour, next Friday, and ordered rich tables to be set and set. When the guests arrived, he planted his beloved proud girl with her face right where the unhappy couple should appear. And soon there were exclamations, crying, and everything was repeated... The horseman told the guests everything, as Nastagio had told it before. The guests looked at the execution in amazement and horror. And Nastagio’s girl thought about it and realized that the same punishment could await her. Fear suddenly gave rise to love for the young man.
Soon after the cruel performance staged by Nastagio, the girl sent an attorney with her consent to the wedding. And they lived happily, in love and harmony.
The composition is two-figure. The Annunciation is the most fantastic story of all gospel stories. The “Annunciation” - the good news - is unexpected and fabulous for Mary, as is the very appearance of a winged angel before her. It seems that another moment, and Mary will collapse at the feet of the Archangel Gabriel, ready to cry herself. The drawing of the figures depicts violent tension. Everything that happens has the character of anxiety, gloomy despair. The painting was created during the last period of Botticelli’s work, when he hometown Florence fell out of favor with the monks when all of Italy was threatened with death - all this cast a gloomy overtone on the picture.
Through a mythological plot, Botticelli conveys in this picture the essence of the moral qualities of people.
King Midas sits on the throne, two insidious figures - Ignorance and Suspicion - whisper dirty slander into his donkey ears. Midas listens with his eyes closed, and in front of him stands ugly man in black is Malice, which always guides the actions of Midas. Next to her is Slander - a beautiful young girl with the appearance of pure innocence. And next to her are two beautiful constant companions of Slander - Envy and Lie. They weave flowers and ribbons into the girl’s hair so that Slander will always be favorable to them. Malice is drawn to Midas by Slander, who was the king’s favorite. She herself, with all her might, drags the Victim - a half-naked, unfortunate young man - to the judgment seat. It is easy to understand what the judgment will be like.
On the left, alone, stand two more figures that are unnecessary here - Repentance - an old woman in dark “funeral” clothes and Truth - naked, and knowing everything. She turned her gaze to God and extended her hand upward.
The Magi are wise men who, having heard the good news of the birth of the baby Christ, hastened to the Mother of God and her great son with gifts and wishes for goodness and long-suffering. The entire space is filled with wise men - in rich clothes, with gifts - all of them are eager to witness the great event - the birth of the future Savior of mankind.
Here the sage knelt before the Mother of God and reverently kissed the hem of little Jesus’ robe.
Before us is Giuliano Medici, the younger brother of the ruler of Florence, Lorenzo the Magnificent. He was tall, slender, handsome, agile and strong. He was passionate about hunting, fishing, horses, loved to play chess. Of course, he could not outshine his brother in the field of politics, diplomacy or poetry. But Giuliano loved Lorenzo very much. The family dreamed of making Giuliano a cardinal, but this intention was not realized.
Giuliano led a lifestyle in keeping with the demands of the time and the position of the Medici. The Florentines long remembered his outfit of silver brocade, decorated with rubies and pearls, when he performed at one of these festivals as a sixteen-year-old youth.
The most beautiful girls in Florence fell in love with him, but Giuliano accompanied only one everywhere - Simonetta Vespucci. Although the girl was married, this did not stop her from reciprocating the charming Giuliano. Giuliano's love for Simonetta was glorified in Poliziano's poem, and their early death turned their relationship into a romantic legend.
Like Simonetta, Giuliano died early. But not from illness, but was killed during an attack on Florence by supporters of the Pope - the Pazzi family. Right in the cathedral, in the crowd, during the service, insidious killers attacked the patriots of Florence, creating a stampede. They, of course, wanted first of all to kill Lorenzo, but he managed to escape, but Giuliano was unlucky, he was killed by an evil, insidious hand.
In the portrait, the artist created a spiritualized image of Giuliano Medici, marked by sadness and doom. The head of a young man with dark hair is turned in profile and stands out against the background of the window. The young man’s face is significant and beautiful: a high clear forehead, a thin nose with a hump, a sensual mouth, a massive chin. The eyes are covered with a heavy semicircle of eyelids, in the shadow of which the gaze barely flickers. The artist emphasizes the pallor of his face, the bitter fold of his lips, a slight wrinkle crossing the bridge of his nose - this enhances the impression of hidden sadness. permeating the appearance of Giuliano. Simplicity color range, consisting of red, brown and gray-blue, corresponds to the overall restraint of the composition and the image itself.
Sandro Botticelli, (Italian: Sandro Botticelli, real name: Alessandro di Mariano Filipepi Alessandro di Mariano Filipepi; 1445 - May 17, 1510) - Italian painter of the Tuscan school.
Biography of Sandro Botticelli
Sandro Botticelli is an Italian painter of the Tuscan school.
Representative Early Renaissance. He was close to the Medici court and the humanist circles of Florence. Works on religious and mythological themes (“Spring”, circa 1477-1478; “Birth of Venus”, circa 1483-1484) are marked by inspired poetry, play of linear rhythms, and subtle coloring. Under the influence of the social upheavals of the 1490s, Botticelli’s art becomes intensely dramatic (“Slander”, after 1495). Drawings for Dante’s “Divine Comedy”, poignant, graceful portraits (“Giuliano de’ Medici”).
Alessandro di Mariano Filipepi was born in 1445 in Florence, the son of tanner Mariano di Vanni Filipepi and his wife Smeralda. After the death of his father, the head of the family became his elder brother, a wealthy stock exchange businessman, nicknamed Botticelli (“Barrel”), either because of his round figure, or because of his intemperance towards wine. This nickname spread to other brothers. (Giovanni, Antonio and Simone) The Filipepi brothers received elementary education in the Dominican monastery of Santa Maria Novella, for which Botticelli later carried out work. At first, the future artist, together with his middle brother Antonio, was sent to study jewelry making. The art of goldsmithing, a respected profession in the mid-15th century, taught him a lot.
The clarity of contour lines and the skillful use of gold, acquired by him as a jeweler, will forever remain in the artist’s work.
Antonio became a good jeweler, and Alessandro, having completed his training course, became interested in painting and decided to devote himself to it. The Filipepi family was respected in the city, which later provided him with impressive connections. The Vespucci family lived next door. One of them, Amerigo Vespucci (1454-1512), a famous trader and explorer, after whom America is named. In 1461-62, on the advice of George Antonio Vespucci, he was sent to the workshop of the famous artist Filippo Lippi, in Prato, a city 20 km from Florence.
In 1467-68, after the death of Lippi, Botticelli returned to Florence, having learned a lot from his teacher. In Florence, the young artist, studying with Andreo de Verrocchio, where Leonardo da Vinci was studying at the same time, became famous. The first independent work an artist who worked in his father's house from 1469.
In 1469, Sandro was introduced by George Antonio Vespucci to the influential politician and statesman Tommaso Soderini. From this meeting, drastic changes took place in the artist’s life.
In 1470 he received, with the support of Soderini, the first official order; Soderini brings Botticelli together with his nephews Lorenzo and Giuliano Medici. From that time on, his work, and this was his heyday, was associated with the name of the Medici. In 1472-75. he paints two small works depicting the story of Judith, apparently intended for cabinet doors. Three years after “Force of the Spirit,” Botticelli creates St. Sebastian, who was very solemnly installed in the church of Santa Maria Maggiori, in Florence. Beautiful Madonnas appear, radiating enlightened meekness. But he received his greatest fame when, around 1475, he performed the “Adoration of the Magi” for the monastery of Santa Maria Novella, where he depicted members of the Medici family surrounded by Mary. Florence during the reign of the Medici was a city of knightly tournaments, masquerades, and festive processions. On January 28, 1475, one of these tournaments took place in the city. It took place in Piazza Santa Corce, and its main character was to be the younger brother of Lorenzo the Magnificent, Giuliano. His " beautiful lady“There was Simonetta Vespucci, with whom Giuliano was hopelessly in love and, apparently, he was not alone. The beauty was subsequently depicted by Botticelli as Pallas Athena on Giuliano's standard. After this tournament, Botticelli took a strong position among the inner circle of the Medici and his place in the official life of the city.
Lorenzo Pierfrancesco Medici, cousin of the Magnificent, becomes his regular customer. Soon after the tournament, even before the artist left for Rome, he ordered him several works. Even in his early youth, Botticelli acquired experience in painting portraits, this characteristic test of the artist's skill. Having become famous throughout Italy, starting in the late 1470s, Botticelli received increasingly lucrative orders from clients outside Florence. In 1481, Pope Sixtus IV invited the painters Sandro Botticelli, Domenico Ghirlandaio, Pietro Perugino and Cosimo Rosselli to Rome to decorate the walls of the papal chapel, called the Sistine Chapel, with frescoes. The wall painting was completed over a surprisingly short period of only eleven months, from July 1481 to May 1482. Botticelli completed three scenes. After returning from Rome, he painted a number of paintings on mythological themes. The artist finishes the painting “Spring”, begun before his departure. During this time, important events occurred in Florence that influenced the mood inherent in this work. Initially, the theme for writing "Spring" was drawn from Poliziano's poem "The Tournament" in which Giuliano de' Medici and his lover Simonetta Vespucci were glorified. However, during the time that elapsed from the beginning of the work to its completion, the beautiful Simonetta died suddenly, and Giuliano himself, with whom the artist had a friendship, was villainously murdered.
This affected the mood of the picture, introducing into it a note of sadness and understanding of the transience of life.
"The Birth of Venus" was written several years later than "Spring". It is unknown who from the Medici family was its customer. Around the same time, Botticelli wrote episodes from "The History of Nastagio degli Onesti" (Boccaccio's Decameron), "Pallas and the Centaur" and "Venus and Mars". In the last years of his reign, Lorenzo the Magnificent, 1490, called the famous preacher Fra Girolamo Savonarola to Florence. Apparently, by doing this, the Magnificent wanted to strengthen his authority in the city.
But the preacher, a militant champion of the observance of church dogmas, entered into sharp conflict with the secular power of Florence. He managed to gain many supporters in the city. Many talented, religious people of art fell under his influence, and Botticelli could not resist. Joy and worship of Beauty disappeared from his work forever. If the previous Madonnas appeared in the solemn majesty of the Queen of Heaven, now she is a pale woman with eyes full of tears, who has experienced and experienced a lot. The artist began to gravitate more toward religious subjects; even among official orders, he was primarily attracted to paintings on biblical themes. This period of creativity is marked by the painting “The Coronation of the Virgin Mary,” commissioned for the chapel of the jewelers’ workshop. His last great work on a secular theme was “Slander,” but in it, despite all the talent of execution, there is no luxuriously decorated, decorative style inherent in Botticelli. In 1493, Florence was shocked by the death of Lorenzo the Magnificent.
Savonarola's fiery speeches were heard throughout the city. In the city, which was the cradle of humanistic thought in Italy, a reassessment of values took place. In 1494, the heir of the Magnificent, Piero, and other Medici were expelled from the city. During this period, Botticelli continued to be greatly influenced by Savonarola. All this affected his work, which experienced a deep crisis. Melancholy and sadness emanate from the two “Lamentations of Christ.” Savonarola’s sermons about the end of the world, the Day of Judgment and God’s punishment led to the fact that on February 7, 1497, thousands of people made a bonfire in the central square of the Signoria, where they burned the most valuable works of art seized from rich houses: furniture, clothes, books, paintings, decorations. Among them, who succumbed to psychosis, were artists. (Lorenzo de Credi, Botticelli's former companion, destroyed several of his sketches of nude figures.)
Botticelli was in the square and, some biographers of those years, write that, succumbing to the general mood, he burned several sketches (the paintings were with the customers), but there is no exact evidence. With the support of Pope Alexander VI, Savonarola was accused of heresy and sentenced to death.
The public execution had a great effect on Botticelli. He writes “Mystical Birth,” where he shows his attitude to what is happening.
The last of the paintings are dedicated to two heroines of Ancient Rome - Lucretia and Virginia. Both girls, in order to save their honor, accepted death, which pushed the people to remove the rulers. The paintings symbolize the expulsion of the Medici family and the restoration of Florence as a republic. According to his biographer, Giorgio Vasari, the painter was tormented by illness and infirmity at the end of his life.
He became "so stooped that he had to walk with the help of two sticks." Botticelli was not married and had no children.
He died alone, at the age of 65, and was buried near the monastery of Santa Maria Novella.
Works of the Italian painter
His art, intended for educated connoisseurs, imbued with motifs of Neoplatonic philosophy, was not appreciated for a long time.
For about three centuries, Botticelli was almost forgotten, until mid-19th century century, interest in his work has not revived, which does not fade to this day.
Writers turn of XIX-XX centuries (R. Sizeran, P. Muratov) created a romantic-tragic image of the artist, which has since firmly established itself in the minds. But documents from the late 15th – early 16th centuries do not confirm such an interpretation of his personality and do not always confirm the data in the biography of Sandro Botticelli written by Vasari.
The first work undoubtedly belonging to Botticelli, “Allegory of Power” (Florence, Uffizi), dates back to 1470. It was part of the series “Seven Virtues” (the others were performed by Piero Pollaiuolo) for the hall of the Commercial Court. Botticelli's student soon became the later famous Filippino Lippi, son of Fra Filippo, who died in 1469. On January 20, 1474, on the occasion of the feast of St. Sebastian's painting "Saint Sebastian" by Sandro Botticelli was exhibited in the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore in Florence.
Allegory of Power by Saint Sebastian
In the same year, Sandro Botticelli was invited to Pisa to work on the Camposanto frescoes. For an unknown reason, he did not complete them, but in the Pisa Cathedral he painted the fresco “The Assumption of Our Lady,” which died in 1583. In the 1470s, Botticelli became close to the Medici family and the “Medice circle” - poets and Neoplatonist philosophers (Marsilio Ficino, Pico della Mirandola , Angelo Poliziano). On January 28, 1475, Lorenzo the Magnificent's brother Giuliano took part in a tournament in one of the Florentine squares with a standard painted by Botticelli (not preserved). After the failed Pazzi plot to overthrow the Medici (April 26, 1478), Botticelli, commissioned by Lorenzo the Magnificent, painted a fresco over the Porta della Dogana, which led to the Palazzo Vecchio. It depicted the hanged conspirators (this painting was destroyed on November 14, 1494 after Piero de' Medici fled from Florence).
Among the best works of Sandro Botticelli of the 1470s is “The Adoration of the Magi,” where members of the Medici family and people close to them are shown in the images of eastern sages and their retinue. At the right edge of the picture, the artist depicted himself.
Between 1475 and 1480 Sandro Botticelli created one of the most beautiful and mysterious works - the painting "Spring".
It was intended for Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco Medici, with whom Botticelli had friendly relations. The plot of this painting, which combines motifs of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, has not yet been fully explained and is obviously inspired by both Neoplatonic cosmogony and events in the Medici family.
The early period of Botticelli’s work ends with the fresco “St. Augustine" (1480, Florence, Church of Ognisanti), commissioned by the Vespucci family. It is a pair of Domenico Ghirlandaio’s composition “St. Jerome" in the same temple. The spiritual passion of Augustine's image contrasts with the prosaism of Jerome, clearly demonstrating the differences between the deep, emotional creativity of Botticelli and the solid craft of Ghirlandaio.
In 1481, together with other painters from Florence and Umbria (Perugino, Piero di Cosimo, Domenico Ghirlandaio), Sandro Botticelli was invited to Rome by Pope Sixtus IV to work in Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. He returned to Florence in the spring of 1482, having managed to write three large compositions in the chapel: “The Healing of the Leper and the Temptation of Christ”, “The Youth of Moses” and “The Punishment of Korah, Dathan and Abiron”.
In the 1480s, Botticelli continued to work for the Medici and other noble Florentine families, producing paintings of both secular and religious subjects. Around 1483, together with Filippino Lippi, Perugino and Ghirlandaio, he worked in Volterra at the Villa Spedaletto, which belonged to Lorenzo the Magnificent. Dates back to before 1487 famous painting Sandro Botticelli “Birth of Venus” (Florence, Uffizi), made for Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco. Together with the previously created “Spring”, it became a kind of iconic image, the personification of both the art of Botticelli and the refined culture of the Medicean court.
The two best tondos (round paintings) by Botticelli date back to the 1480s - “Madonna Magnificat” and “Madonna with a Pomegranate” (both in Florence, Uffizi). The latter may have been intended for the audience hall in the Palazzo Vecchio.
Madonna Magnificat Madonna with Pomegranate
It is believed that from the late 1480s, Sandro Botticelli was strongly influenced by the sermons of the Dominican Girolamo Savonarola, who denounced the order of the contemporary Church and called for repentance.
Vasari writes that Botticelli was a follower of Savonarola’s “sect” and even gave up painting and “fell into the greatest ruin.” Indeed, the tragic mood and elements of mysticism in many of the master’s later works testify in favor of such an opinion. At the same time, the wife of Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco, in a letter dated November 25, 1495, reports that Botticelli was painting the Medici Villa in Trebbio with frescoes, and on July 2, 1497, from the same Lorenzo the artist received a loan for the execution of decorative paintings at the Villa Castello (not preserved). In the same 1497, more than three hundred supporters of Savonarola signed a petition to Pope Alexander VI asking him to lift the excommunication from the Dominican. The name Sandro Botticelli was not found among these signatures. In March 1498, Guidantonio Vespucci invited Botticelli and Piero di Cosimo to decorate his new house on Via Servi. Among the paintings that adorned it were “The History of the Roman Virginia” (Bergamo, Accademia Carrara) and “The History of the Roman Lucretia” (Boston, Gardner Museum). Savonarola was burned that same year on May 29, and there is only one direct evidence of Botticelli's serious interest in his person. Almost two years later, on November 2, 1499, Sandro Botticelli's brother Simone wrote in his diary: “Alessandro di Mariano Filipepi, my brother, one of best artists, which were in these times in our city, in my presence, sitting at home by the fire, about three o’clock in the morning, I told how on that day, in his bottega in the house, Sandro talked with Doffo Spini about the case of Frate Girolamo.” Spini was the chief judge in the trial against Savonarola.
The most significant late works of Botticelli include two “Entombments” (both after 1500; Munich, Alte Pinakothek; Milan, Poldi Pezzoli Museum) and the famous “ Mystical Christmas"(1501, London, National Gallery) is the only signed and dated work by the artist. In them, especially in “Nativity,” they see Botticelli’s appeal to the techniques of medieval Gothic art, primarily in the violation of perspective and scale relationships.
Entombment Mystical Christmas
However late works masters are not pastiche.
The use of forms and techniques alien to the Renaissance artistic method, is explained by the desire to enhance emotional and spiritual expressiveness, to convey which the artist did not have enough specifics real world. One of the most sensitive painters of the Quattrocento, Botticelli sensed the impending crisis of the humanistic culture of the Renaissance extremely early. In the 1520s, its onset will be marked by the emergence of the irrational and subjective art of mannerism.
One of the most interesting aspects of Sandro Botticelli's work is portraiture.
In this area, he established himself as a brilliant master already at the end of the 1460s (“Portrait of a Man with a Medal,” 1466-1477, Florence, Uffizi; “Portrait of Giuliano de’ Medici,” c. 1475, Berlin, State Collections). IN the best portraits masters, the spirituality and sophistication of the characters’ appearances are combined with a kind of hermeticism, sometimes locking them in arrogant suffering (“Portrait of a Young Man”, New York, Metropolitan Museum).
One of the most magnificent draftsmen of the 15th century, Botticelli, according to Vasari, painted a lot and “exceptionally well.” His drawings were extremely highly valued by his contemporaries, and they were kept as samples in many workshops of Florentine artists. Very few of them have survived to this day, but the skill of Botticelli the draftsman can be judged by a unique series of illustrations for “ Divine Comedy» Dante. Executed on parchment, these drawings were intended for Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de' Medici. Sandro Botticelli turned to illustrating Dante twice. The first small group of drawings (not preserved) was apparently made by him in the late 1470s, and based on it Baccio Baldini made nineteen engravings for the 1481 edition of the Divine Comedy. Botticelli’s most famous illustration to Dante is the drawing “Map of Hell” ( La mappa dell inferno).
Botticelli began completing the pages of the Medici Codex after returning from Rome, using partly his first compositions. 92 sheets have survived (85 in the Cabinet of Engravings in Berlin, 7 in the Vatican Library). The drawings were made with silver and lead pins; the artist then outlined their thin gray line with brown or black ink. Four sheets are painted with tempera. On many sheets the inking is not completed or not done at all. It is these illustrations that make it especially clear to feel the beauty of Botticelli’s light, precise, nervous line.
According to Vasari, Sandro Botticelli was “a very pleasant person and often liked to joke with his students and friends.”
“They also say,” he writes further, “that above all he loved those whom he knew were diligent in their art, and that he earned a lot, but everything went to ruin for him, since he managed poorly and was careless. In the end, he became decrepit and incapacitated and walked leaning on two sticks...” About Botticelli’s financial situation in the 1490s, that is, at the time when, according to Vasari, he had to give up painting and go broke under the influence of Savonarola’s sermons, partly allow us to judge documents from the State Archives of Florence. It follows from them that on April 19, 1494, Sandro Botticelli, together with his brother Simone, acquired a house with land and a vineyard outside the gates of San Frediano. The income from this property in 1498 was determined at 156 florins. True, since 1503 the master has been in debt for contributions to the Guild of St. Luke, but an entry dated October 18, 1505 reports that it was completely repaid. The fact that the elderly Botticelli continued to enjoy fame is also evidenced by a letter from Francesco dei Malatesti, agent of the ruler of Mantua, Isabella d’Este, who was looking for craftsmen to decorate her studiolo. On September 23, 1502, he informs her from Florence that Perugino is in Siena, Filippino Lippi is too burdened with orders, but there is also Botticelli, who “we praise me a lot.” The trip to Mantua did not take place for an unknown reason.
In 1503, Ugolino Verino, in his poem “De ilrustratione urbis Florentiae,” named Sandro Botticelli among the best painters, comparing him with the famous artists of antiquity - Zeuxis and Apelles.
On January 25, 1504, the master was part of a commission discussing the choice of location for the installation of Michelangelo’s David. The last four and a half years of Sandro Botticelli's life are not documented. They were that sad time of decrepitude and incapacity that Vasari wrote about.
Interesting facts: the origin of the nickname “Botticelli”
The artist's real name is Alessandro Filipepi (for Sandro's friends).
He was the youngest of four sons of Mariano Filipepi and his wife Zmeralda and was born in Florence in 1445. Mariano was a tanner by profession and lived with his family in the Santa Maria Novella quarter on Via Nuova, where he rented an apartment in a house owned by Rucellai. He had his own workshop not far from the Santa Trinita in Oltrarno bridge, the business brought in a very modest income, and old Filipepi dreamed of quickly finding a job for his sons and finally having the opportunity to leave the labor-intensive craft.
The first mention of Alessandro, as well as of other Florentine artists, we find in the so-called “portate al Catasto”, that is, the cadastre, where statements of income were made for taxation, which, in accordance with the decree of the Republic of 1427, the head of each Florentine state was obliged to make families.
So in 1458, Mariano Filipepi indicated that he had four sons Giovanni, Antonio, Simone and thirteen-year-old Sandro and added that Sandro “is learning to read, he is a sickly boy.” Filipepi's four brothers brought significant income and social status to the family. The Filipepi owned houses, land, vineyards and shops.
The origin of Sandro’s nickname, “Botticelli,” is still in doubt.
Perhaps the funny street nickname “Botticella”, meaning “Barrel”, was inherited by the slender and dexterous maestro Sandro from the fat man Giovanni, Sandro’s older brother, who looked after him paternally, who became a broker and served as a financial intermediary for the government.
Apparently, Giovanni, wanting to help his aging father, did a lot of upbringing youngest child. But perhaps the nickname arose in consonance with the jewelry craft of the second brother, Antonio. However, no matter how we interpret the above document, jewelry art played an important role in the development of young Botticelli, for it was in this direction that the same brother Antonio directed him. Alessandro’s father, tired of his “extravagant mind,” gifted and capable of learning, but restless and still unable to find true calling; Perhaps Mariano wanted his youngest son to follow in the footsteps of Antonio, who had worked as a goldsmith since at least 1457, which would have marked the beginning of a small but reliable family enterprise.
According to Vasari, at that time there was such a close connection between jewelers and painters that entering the workshop of one meant gaining direct access to the craft of others, and Sandro, who was fairly skilled in drawing, an art necessary for accurate and confident “blackening,” soon became interested in painting and decided to devote himself to it, without forgetting the most valuable lessons of jewelry art, in particular clarity in drawing contour lines and skillful use of gold, which was later often used by the artist as an admixture to paints or in its pure form for the background.
A crater on Mercury is named after Botticelli.
Bibliography
- Botticelli, Sandro // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: In 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg, 1890-1907.
- Go to: 1 2 3 4 Giorgio Vasari. Biographies of the most famous painters, sculptors and architects. - M.: ALPHA-KNIGA, 2008.
- Titus Lucretius Car. About the nature of things. - M.: Fiction, 1983.
- Dolgopolov I.V. Masters and masterpieces. - M.: Fine Arts, 1986. - T. I.
- Benoit A. History of painting of all times and peoples. - M.: Neva, 2004. - T. 2.
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