Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi, known as Sandro Botticelli - a Nickname meaning Small wine Cask. He was a precocious child, restless at school, who annoyed every one. His father a tanner, sent him off as an apprentice to a gold
smith. Soon his amazing talent was recognised however and he was to become a student of he Great Master, Fillipo Lippi, who trained him in humanist style, which ffavoured softness, gesture, expression and design, rather than technicalities.Thus
he was an Early Renaissance painter who belonged to the Florentine School.
His patron was Lorenzo de Medici, also known as ‘Lorenzo the Magnificent’, who ruled Florence from 1462 til 1492. Lorenzo was a fervent supporter
of the Arts, philosophy and sciences, and supported a large number of people involved in the pursuits of the Renaissance or Rebirth, and Florence was flowering. He was a favoured artist of the Church and the Medicis, as well as very wealthy art patrons
of the time. He grew in popularity, and apparently managed to entice Lippi’s patronage away for himself. He soon possessed his own workshop and students , which included Lippi’s artist son.
He was known for his numerous
portrayals of the ‘Madonna and Childs’mainly in the round tondo style ( circular style) prevalent in Greek antiquity art. He lived in the same neighbourhood in Florence most of his life, except for two major excursions to Pisa and Rome, where
he was invited to paint in the Sistine Chapel.
He did not start his famous mythological artworks until the 1480’s when he produced his most recognised works, ‘The Birth of Venus’ and the ’Primavera’ The Medicis and
the Church initially loved his work, but this was to change
The Bonfires of the Vanities.
Lorenzo was constantly challenged by rival families and detractors, and after narrowly escaping an assassination attempt by the rival Florentine
Pazza family, the King of Naples and the pope, the artists he supported had to seek elsewhere for patronage until he could regain power. The religious reformer Savonarola took an even darker view of Lorenzo and the classical influenced art he promoted. He
viewed it as sinful indulgence . So after ousting the Medici in 1492, he decided their decadent art should go too and works by Botticelli, Michaelangelo and others went up in flames in a massive Bonfire of the Vanities on the Piazza della Signoria. Not only
artworks, but books, musical instruments, fine clothes and expensive manuscripts were thrown in the massive fire. Universities such as those in Pisa and Siena were either closed down or heavily monitored.The great mathematician and scientist, Galileo
Galilei,who was rector of Pisa University was put under house arrest for his scientific views of the heavens.
Ironically, in 1497 Savonarola himself was burned at the stake in the same place, for being a heretic and fanatic when he started to scrutinise
the Church and it’s extravagant spending and immoral life style. A plaque can be found there today marking the place of both Bonfires of the Vanities, near the Palazzo Vecchio and former Medici offices, now the amazing Uffizi Galleria which contains
the Botticelli and Leonardo Rooms. Imagine what was lost from these Great Masters!
LATER YEARS
During the last 15 years of his life, Botticello underwent a crisis of mood, style and expression. The 1490 ‘s were turbulent with the expulsion
of the Medicis, and ITALY’s peace was marred by invasions and devastating plagues. He rejected the ornamental charm and softness of earlier works and favoured heavy handed style and themes, concentrating on deep moral and religious motifs. He soon
lost favour and he received critical comparisons with Leonardo and Michaelangelo- Leonardo remarked his perspective was worse than a child’s drawing!
According to Vasari , a colleague of the Mediciswho wrote about artists lives in the C15th,
Botticelli. was an artistic genius, never married or hardly left his family home in Florence. He also stated always was a bad manager of his finances and careless with his relationships with patrons.
After his death, his work fell into obscurity
until it was rediscovered in the C19th with the Grannd European tours - and the world fell in love again with his epic works