Sandro Botticelli - c. 1445 – 1510

Sandro Botticelli

c. 1445 – 1510 | Florentine Painter of Poetic Grace and Mythological Splendor

Few names from the Early Renaissance evoke as much romantic allure as Sandro Botticelli. A native of Florence, Botticelli infused his paintings with lyrical beauty, fluid linework, and an otherworldly grace that feels both timeless and ethereal. He is best remembered for the poetic masterpieces Primavera and The Birth of Venus, icons of myth, beauty, and idealized love—but his legacy runs far deeper.

Born Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi in a modest Florentine neighborhood, Botticelli was nicknamed "Botticelli" (meaning “little barrel”) after his brother, and the name stayed with him for life. His earliest training likely began in goldsmithing, but his true path was shaped in the studio of Fra Filippo Lippi—one of the most expressive painters of the age. Under Lippi’s guidance, Botticelli mastered delicate contours, emotional expression, and the quiet elegance that would define his signature style.

By the 1470s, Botticelli had established himself as a master in his own right, with a flourishing workshop and growing list of commissions. He painted sacred altarpieces, mythological allegories, Madonnas in the graceful tondo format, and sensitive portraits. His early Adoration of the Magi includes a likely self-portrait and strikingly lifelike renderings of the powerful Medici family—key patrons throughout his life.

In 1481, Botticelli was summoned to Rome to work on the frescoes in the newly constructed Sistine Chapel. There, alongside fellow masters, he painted several large biblical scenes, including The Punishment of the Sons of Corah and The Temptation of Christ. These ambitious works, filled with movement and narrative clarity, helped solidify his fame across Italy.

Yet it was back in Florence that Botticelli painted his most enduring and mysterious works—Primavera and The Birth of Venus. These large mythological paintings, commissioned for the Medici family, broke with religious tradition and embraced classical themes drawn from ancient poetry and Renaissance Neoplatonism. Botticelli’s Venus, floating atop a shell in a sea of pale blue, became an eternal symbol of beauty and divine love.

Though celebrated in his lifetime, Botticelli’s fame declined in the 16th century as High Renaissance ideals shifted toward Michelangelo’s muscular dynamism and Leonardo’s scientific realism. Botticelli, by contrast, moved in the opposite direction—his late religious paintings became more austere, spiritual, and emotionally intense, reflecting the influence of the fiery preacher Savonarola.

He died in 1510, buried in the church of Ognissanti, just steps from where he was born and lived his entire life.

Centuries later, Botticelli was rediscovered by the 19th-century Pre-Raphaelites, who were captivated by the linear grace and dreamy melancholy of his figures. Today, his art is not only admired for its technical brilliance but revered for its quiet emotional power—where myth becomes memory, and beauty transcends time.