Tribute to Botticelli - 515th Anniversary of His Death

On the occasion of the 515th anniversary of his death, Museum TV pays tribute to him and looks back on the career of this Renaissance master: Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi, known as Sandro Botticelli, was born in Florence on March 1, 1445. He was one of the artists of the Quattrocento generation, along with Michelangelo, Raphael, and Donatello. He is recognized as one of the most memorable painters of the Italian Renaissance.

Quattrocento Florence 

Florence, the capital of Tuscany and a prolific artistic center, was ruled by the Medici family at the time. The Medici, with their keen interest in the arts and literature, had a great influence on writers and artists, including Botticelli, who received a number of commissions from them. Among them is the Trebbio Altarpiece, created between 1497 and 1499 by Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de' Medici. 

The city was populated by bankers, merchants, and industrialists, which gave it its dynamism and economic prosperity. Public festivals, processions, theatrical and secular performances stimulated the inspiration of artists.

The Theory of Perspective 

Artistic production in Quattrocento Florence was marked by two major elements: an interest in the ancient heritage and perspective. Indeed, Brunelleschi and Leo Battista Alberti established the rules of perspective. In 1435, Alberti published De Pictura, an essential work on the subject. Theorization of perspective allowed the Quattrocentes to render nature as faithfully as possible. This is reminiscent of the anecdote of Zeuxis and Parrhasios reported by Pliny, according to which Zeuxis had depicted grapes so realistically that birds came to peck at the painting. By comparison, before the theory of perspective, Giotto, a pre-Renaissance artist, crowded his figures, which somewhat blurred the reading. 

Training as a Painter 

Thus, around 1461-1462, Botticelli began his apprenticeship with Fra Filippo Lippi. At that time, a painter's artistic training began at around ten or twelve years old as an apprentice in a workshop. His duties consisted of preparing the colors, panels, and mortar for the frescoes. He learned by observing his master. Later, the future painter obtained the status of journeyman, where he assisted the master in his work. Once his training was completed, he left his master to set up his own business.

Botticelli's early paintings demonstrate the influence of his master Fra Filippo Lippi. These include the Virgin and Child with Two Angels and Saint John the Baptist (1468) and the Madonna of the Eucharist (1470). The clarity of the lines and the use of feminine beauty, tenderness, and a calm attitude with peaceful expressions are characteristic of Botticelli's art at the beginning of his career. 

Techniques 

The two major techniques of the Italian Renaissance were: fresco painting, performed on walls, and egg wash painting, mostly on wood panels.

• Oil paint was rarely used.
• Fresco painting consisted of painting on a still-wet mortar of sand and lime.
• Egg wash painting was based on a mixture of powdered colors and egg yolk diluted with water.

The Medici, Reliable Patrons 

Since Fra Filippo Lippi had enjoyed the patronage of the Medici family, his pupil in turn enjoyed this privilege. Botticelli then produced a large number of mythological paintings for the ruling family. Pallas and the Centaur is one of them, commissioned by Lorenzo the Magnificent, possibly on the occasion of the marriage of his cousin Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de' Medici to Semiramide Appiani. 

Another important patron of Botticelli was the Vespucci family, close to the Medici family. Among them was Amerigo Vespucci, the explorer and traveler who gave his name to the Americas. One of the most famous works created for this family is the portrait of Simonetta Vespucci. This portrait of a young woman, idealized with the mythological features of a nymph, bears the features of Simonetta Vespucci. Giuliano de' Medici's mistress, who died prematurely, is shown in profile, like many of her portraits. Her pendant, resembling an antique cameo, belonging to the Medici family collection, places the young woman within the close circle of this family. Piero di Cosimo (1462-1522), under the plausible commission of Giuliano de Medici, also took up this subject. He depicted the woman with a bare bust, which is unusual for a 15th-century portrait. The dark clouds and the snake biting its tail would seem to indicate the grim fate of Simonetta, who died of consumption at the age of twenty-three in 1476. 

Being a Painter in the Quattrocento 

During this period, artists were considered artisans, just like shoemakers. Italian artists of the Quattrocento had to belong to a guild in order to receive commissions. Like contemporary artists, artists of this century worked almost exclusively to commission. The client specified the technique and pigments to be used, based on the cost of the latter in particular. He also indicated the price paid to the artist.

From 1467-1468, Botticelli had an independent workshop. In 1472, he joined the Florentine painters' guild, the Company of Saint Luke. Florentine artists founded the Compagnia di San Luca, a religious and professional brotherhood, in 1339. The brotherhood placed painters under the patronage of Saint Luke, the patron saint of painters. 

The painter's fame was such that in 1481, Pope Sixtus IV summoned Botticelli to the construction site of the Sistine Chapel in Rome. He produced major frescoes, including The Temptation of Christ and The Punishment of the Rebels, as well as several portraits of popes such as Pope Sixtus II. 

Botticelli, Dark Ages and renaissance 

The turbulent political climate in Florence marked the end of his career. Following the death of Lorenzo de' Medici, known as Lorenzo the Magnificent, in 1492, Charles VIII invaded Florence in 1494, giving Savonarola the opportunity to take power of the city. He established a theocratic regime. He erected a "bonfire of the Vanities" in the Piazza della Signoria, where Florentines burned anything that might alienate them from morality. Some of Botticelli's works were lost during this period. 

Sandro Botticelli transcribed this austere period and the attacks on his patrons in his works.

Sandro Botticelli died on May 17, 1510, in Florence in poverty. His art was neglected for several centuries before being rediscovered by an essay by Walter Pater. The 19th-century Pre-Raphaelite movement, notably led by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, took an interest in Italian Renaissance painting before Raphael. Botticelli then became a major source of inspiration.

Artwork of the Day 

Botticelli repeatedly addressed a recurring theme in the history of Christian art: the Adoration of the Magi. Gaspare di Zanobi del Lama, a supporter of the Medici, commissioned the 1476 version, which was to adorn a chapel in the church of Santa Maria Novella. 

The Adoration of the Magi, according to the Gospel according to Matthew, was recorded during the Nativity. According to Christian tradition, the three Magi: Melchior, Caspar, and Balthazar, paid homage to the infant Jesus by bringing him gold, frankincense, and myrrh, respectively.

The popularity of this iconographic theme in Florence can be explained by an annual event. On Epiphany, the Medici participated in the procession of the Magi.

In this work, the scene is set in a ruined building. The pyramidal composition highlights the group formed by the Holy Family. The kneeling Magi in the foreground, wearing a red robe, is the pictorial center of the work. Botticelli introduces contemporary figures such as Cosimo de' Medici, the Magi kneeling at the feet of the Child, Peter I de' Medici, the Magi in the vermillion robe, Giovanni, and Giuliano de' Medici to his right. The painter is believed to have depicted Lorenzo de' Medici on the left, holding a sword between his legs. Symmetrically, the man draped in a red ochre cloak could be a self-portrait of the painter himself.

On the occasion of the 515th anniversary of the death of Sandro Botticelli, an emblematic figure of the Renaissance, this tribute is also an opportunity to (re)discover the incredible influence of this artistic movement that profoundly marked the history of art. To prolong this immersion, explore our selection of documentaries devoted to the great masters of the Renaissance on our video-on-demand platform: my.museumtv.art. A fascinating dive into the heart of creativity, innovation and artistic genius.