Sandro Botticelli

Biography

Sandro Botticelli was born Alessandro di Mariano Filipepi in the Ognissanti region of Florence, Italy. Botticelli spent all his life in Florence and was apprenticed to a goldsmith, to later become a pupil of the painter Filippo Lippi. It wasn’t until a period from 1481 to 1482 that he left Florence for a while to visit Rome where he painted wall frescoes in the Sistine Chapel of the Vatican, the most prestigious commission of the day. His inclusion on this prestigious project shows the reputation that he already held at this point in his career.

At the peak of his career, Botticelli was the most sought after painter in the City and towards the end of his career his art took a more serious and emotional turn. His only signed and dated work, The Mystical Nativity is one of the most personal and intense paintings in the history of art. His other most famous paintings include Primavera, The Birth of Venus, and Pallas and the Centaur which all hang in Florence’s Ufizzi Gallery, and are believed to have been commissioned by Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de Medici, a cousin of Lorenzo the Magnificent.

Botticelli’s studio was so busy he had three assistants helping him produce his religious and mythological paintings, as well as the memorable portraits that he was also to become famous for. Unfortunately Botticelli’s work fell out of favour possibly affected by the disturbing atmosphere in Florence when the ascetic monk Savonarola was virtual ruler of the city. This combined with the return of Leonardo da Vinci to Florence affected his popularity, and it was only in the late 19th Century that his paintings were rediscovered by the Pre Raphaelite Brotherhood and was recognised as one of the greatest artists of his age.

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