Botticelli

Botticelli, born Alessandro Filipepi, was born in Florence, Italy around 1944. He was the youngest of five children.   After a time apprenticing under his father as a goldsmith, Botticelli convinced his father that he wanted to study painting. Lippi, the person he apprenticed for, was well known for how he used color on church altarpieces and helped Botticelli discover a similar style for his own work. Botticelli developed tender expressions in his subjects face and in their gestures. He also used decorative details that were influenced by his training. Botticelli quickly became recognized as a gifted artist all by himself. By the time he was 15 years old, he was able to open a workshop dedicated to his own work. His portraits seemed to have a melancholy or sad characteristic to them. He stressed line and detail using them to bring his characters alive.   Botticelli also included Neo-Platonism in his work; Bringing together in one painting ideas that belong to both Christianity and pagan ideas which may have included mythology. Another theme Botticelli liked tackling were the roles male and females played in society. Sometimes Botticelli would show traditional roles, but other times, he showed females as the dominant, most important figure. Botticelli’s work was most in demand by the Medici family. The Medici’s were a very rich and prominent member of the Florence society. Botticelli is thought to have used them as subjects for a large number of his works. They traveled in very important circles and introduced Botticelli to some of the most influential people. In these different settings, Botticelli gathered material to use in his portraits and scene portrayals. The Medici family would pay huge sums of money for Botticelli’s work. In 1481, Botticelli was invited to Rome to take part in the painting of the Sistine Chapel. Botticelli joined artists such as Perugino, Ghirlandaio and then Michelangelo in contributing to the most well known piece of Italian art. While... [continues]

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