Sandro Botticelli
By: Ben Lachapelle
Birth and Death
Botticelli was born in Florence, Italy on March 1, 1445. He lived to be 65 years of age dying on May 7, 1510.
Life
The name of the master that trained Botticelli is not know so we do not know the source of his education. He spent most of his life in Florence as he started doing works for Andrea del Verrocchio. Eventually he was patroned by Lorenzo Medici who was, at the time the most powerful man in Florence. Many of his best and most famous works were commissioned while being Patroned by Lorenzo. He spent his later years as a cripple and didn't receive any commissions.
Works
Best known as a painter, Botticelli created works that focus on secularism and idealism. He made multiple paintings that were successful focusing on the human body at its finest.
Spring and Birth of Venus
Spring and Birth of Venus is a famous piece created by Botticelli in 1482. Today this piece can be found at the Uffizzi Gallery Museum in Florence. This is an important piece of art because it started a crucial shift towards secularism. This piece especially focuses on the individual. Artists started getting commissions from places other than the church. This is an interesting painting because of the way it is set up. It has many details including people on the sides of Venus to draw you into the main character of the painting. You get a feeling of rebirth when you look over this detailed painting.
Works Cited
Birth of Venus. Sandro Botticelli. 1482. In ARTstor [database online]. [cited 3 December 2015]. Available from ARTstor, Inc., New York, New York.
"Sandro Botticelli." Encyclopedia of World Biography. Detroit: Gale, 1998. Biography in Context. Web. 3 Dec. 2015.