Sandro Botticelli
by Abby Peters
Biography
- He was born in 1445, in Florence, Italy
- He was formally educated until he was 14 years old, and his first encounter with art was when he trained with a goldsmith
- He spent most of his time in Florence Italy
- He found school difficult because he was extremely restless and not very social
- Started out on the bottom and worked his way up the social ladder because of his paintings and his relations to the Medici family
- He was a painter, Some of his most famous paintings include 'The Birth of Venus', 'Venus and Mars', 'Primavera', and 'The Return of Judith' he also illustrated the 'Divine Comedy'
- His Patrons included the Medici Family and Tommaso Soderini
Humanism and Secularism
- Humanism: any system of thought or action in which human interests, values, and dignity dominate
- He showed humanism when he was determined to be a painter and worked his way up the social ladder
- Secularism: separation between religion and daily life
- He demonstrated secularism when most of his paintings were not oriented around religious beliefs
The Return of Judith
- Created in 1467-1468
- Located in a private collection
- This painting has lots of color, correct proportion and is drawn to scale.
- Two women are running, one with a man's head in her hands and the other with a sword. The one with the head is a servant to the other woman.
- This painting isn't something you would expect to see in this time period because it shows people have murdered someone and haven't been caught yet.
- This Painting exemplifies secularism because the women have no religious objects nor do they show their religion.