Botticelli, A
ORDERBY-NAME: Botticelli
OTHER-NAME: Alessandro di Mariano Filipepi
BIRTH: 1445, Florence, Italy
DEATH: 1510
CATEGORY: The arts
DISCIPLINE:Painting
ASSESSMENT:Major figure in Renaissance art.
LANGUAGE: Italian
EDUCATION: Most of his education was developed in the studios of Filippo Lippi, where he studied art.
ACHIEVEMENT:Master painter.
MAJOR-WORK:Adoration of the Magi
PARENTS: Son of a tanner
SPOUSE:n/a
SIBLINGS:Three
CHILDREN:None
DETAILS:In the year 1445, Alessandro di Mariano Filipepi was born in Florence, Italy. Sandro (short for Alessandro) was born to a relatively upper middle class Italian family and was the youngest of four children. His father was a successful tanner, but Sandro decided to pursue art instead. As a child, Sandro showed signs of weak health; he was constantly sick.
While young, Sandro became known as “Botticelli.” His older brother was big and his nickname was ‘Boticella,’ meaning ‘keg.’ ‘Botticelli’ could have been derived from that, but by the same token, Sandro’s other brother was a goldsmith and these were known as Battigellos. Eventually, one of the two names took shape for Sandro in the form of “Botticelli”.
Sandro began as a goldsmith’s apprentice, developing his artistic side and making drawings of his own. The first major professional artist to appreciate his work and offer an apprenticeship was Fra Filippo Lippi*, at the time perhaps the best-known painter in Florence. With Lippi Sandro learned what styles worked best for him. Sandro brushed the oil paint from his brush on the canvas very lightly, creating very smooth skin lines on human subjects. This style was noticeably different from other painters of his time.
During his early years, Sandro met Antonio del Pollaiuolo*, with whom he sharpened his line-drawing skills. Sandro also worked with Verrocchio* and Masolino*.
In 1470, Sandro finally opted to work alone and began painting his first major work: the Allegory of Fortitude. This painting depicts a queen sitting on an elegant medieval chair, holding some sort of wand or stick. She seems filled with sadness, and does not look directly at the viewer. Her colors are vivid and soft.
Sandro’s new style caught the attention of people in Florence. His preferred subjects were mostly Saints, religious figures and the Madonna. He also painted the Adoration of the Magi and the Temptation of Christ.
The Adoration of the Magi (originally designed by Sandro for a Florence church) showed several members of Lorenzo de’ Medici* ’s family. The Temptation of the Christ was not a painting but a fresco and it shows the third scene of the Christ cycle. (A fresco is simply a painting or mural done on a wall. The word “fresco” means “fresh” in Italian and because the paintings were done using wet inks, they were fresh at the time they were created, hence the word “fresco”).
Part of Sandro’s unique style and creativity is demonstrated in his pictures of women. He expressed his respect for women by showing his nudes covering parts of their body.
One of his favorite subjects is Venus, shown in such works as Primavera and The Birth of Venus.
Another characteristic of Sandro’s female subjects was the way in which their faces expressed a silent, almost reserved look, as if hiding their emotions.
During his final years, Sandro began shifting from feminine figures to other, more obscure subjects and the popularity of his style began slowly to fade.
ONE-LINER: Botticelli, great Renaissance painter
EXTRA-CONNECTIONS: None
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
EB
Grove History of Art