Sandro Botticelli
Italian painter Sandro Botticelli was one of the foremost talked-about artists during the early Italian Renaissance, well-known for his portrayal of the female figure. Even throughout the changes of his subjects -- from the whimsical pagan mythologies to the reverent Christian ideologies -- Botticelli was a master of his art. His personalized style was captured in each work, all elegantly executed on canvas with the influence of his patrons and the humanist thinkers.
Botticelli was born under the name Alessandro di Mariano Filipepi in Florence (Gietmann, 1907). His early years were slightly obscure, though it has been said that he derived his name (which meant "little barrel") from either Botticelli, a goldsmith, who was also Alessandro's master, or from his older brother ("Sandro," 2009). The artist was apprenticed around 13 or 14 years of age by Filippo Lippi, whose style defined his earlier works. Lippi's style was particularly evident in that of Botticelli's first painting, Fortitude (1470), a work which showed the fusion of Lippi's style and the craftsmanship of fellow artist and engraver Antonio Pollaiuolo (Lightbown, 1989). Fortitude was the first of Botticelli's commissioned works, as part of a series to be created for the Tribunate di Mercatanzia -- a series that Pollaiuolo also had a hand in.
Many patrons employed Botticelli and commissioned him for various works in Florence. It was the Medici family, however, who allowed Botticelli to soar to new heights,...
The two seem to be squaring off in generosity, each inviting the other to go before him to make obeisance. The postures and figures in the crowd range of arrogance to humility. A figure on the left appears to be frowning haughtily at the scene before him as though he could not possibly give up his dignity to bow before such a poor family. The fact that the setting is
The landscape diffuses in colors to give optical illusion of perspective and farness. The first figures, of the two children are softly modeled in lights and shades. The light is bright and clear and it seems to have no specific direction. Although Renaissance had great preoccupation with the study of light and the use of it to give volume, there will pass a longer time before artists would really use the
This may also be an indication of the struggle within the artist. (Botticelli, Sandro: The Mystical Nativity) The works of Botticelli were to become less fashionable and popular with the development of the Renaissance. He was to die virtually unknown in the art world. However in the 19th century Ruskin and the Pre-Raphaelites once again recognized his genius and his paintings again assumed a prominent position in the history of
Renaissance was beginning to influence Italian painters in adapting their style in order for it to fit the needs of a more advanced world. Fra Angelico is recognized as one of the great early Italian painters from the Renaissance. In his work of decorating the Dominican Monastery of San Marco, he mastered a painting style that was reported to have been partly inspired from Masaccio, with his paintings expressing motion
Here Mars is asleep and unarmed, while Venus is awake and alert. The meaning of the picture is that love conquers war, or love conquers all." (Cole, xx) the purpose of the work during the renaissance was mostly likely for a prominent individual's bedroom furniture or a piece of wainscoting. Some art connoisseurs have considered that the detailed wasps at upper right may have been a link to the popular
The realism of proportion and position is a hallmark of the Late Renaissance/Baroque period. The sharp contrast between Christ and his surroundings, however, is a distinct and yet subtle influence of de Champaigne's Flemish training. Christ is very clearly and visibly defined, and there is no question that he stands out fro the other elements of the painting, scant as they are, appearing almost to have a three dimensional
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