Botticelli

Description

With the patronage of the powerful Medici family, a canon of secular and religious work, and contributions to the celebrated Sistine Chapel, Sandro Botticelli (1444/45-1510) was well placed for fame. After his death, however, his work was eclipsed for some four hundred years. It wasn't until the 19th century that the painter began to gain major art-historical recognition. Today, Botticelli is hailed as a towering figure of the Florentine Early Renaissance. His secular works The Birth of Venus and Primavera, mostly read as an allegory of Spring, are among the most recognized paintings in the world, resplendent in their delicate details, graceful lines, and compositional balance. His arrangements are fluid yet poised, his figures serene yet sensual. Venus, in particular, is held up as art-historical icon of beauty: pale-skinned, delicately featured, soft with fecund promise. This essential introduction presents key works from Botticelli's oeuvre to understand the making of a Renaissance legend. Through the painter's most famous mythological and allegorical scenes, as well as his radiant religious works, we explore a mastery of figuration, movement, and line, which has gone on to inspire artists from Edgar Degas to Andy Warhol, Rene Magritte to Cindy Sherman. Par la protection de la puissante famille des Medicis, grace a une multitude d'oeuvres profanes et religieuses et a ses contributions a la celebre chapelle Sixtine, Sandro Botticelli (1444/1445-1510) etait bien place pour devenir celebre. Pourtant, apres sa mort, son oeuvre tomba pendant pres de 400 ans dans l'oubli. Ce n'est qu'a partir du XIXe siecle que le peintre commenca a gagner les faveurs des historiens de l'art. Aujourd'hui, Botticelli est salue comme une figure determinante des debuts de la Renaissance florentine. Ses oeuvres profanes, La Naissance de Venus et Primavera, consideree comme une allegorie du printemps, figurent parmi les peintures les plus reconnues au monde, brillant par la finesse de leur detail, leurs lignes gracieuses et leur agencement equilibre. Ses compositions sont aussi fluides qu'ordonnees, ses personnages sont autant sereins que sensuels. En particulier, Venus est l'icone de la beaute en histoire de l'art avec son teint pale, sa delicatesse, sa douceur promesse de fecondite. En presentant les oeuvres cle de Botticelli, cette introduction incontournable eclaire la face cachee de cette legende de la Renaissance. A travers les scenes mythologiques et les allegories les plus connues du peintre, sans oublier ses peintures religieuses rayonnantes, on explore sa maitrise de la figuration, du mouvement et de la ligne, qui n'a cesse d'inspirer les artistes, d'Edgar Degas a Andy Warhol, de Rene Magritte a Cindy Sherman.

Barbara Deimling started working at Syracuse University in Florence in 1997 and was its director from 2000-2009; in this capacity she was responsible for all matters relating to the Florence Center. She has published books about Italian Renaissance painting.