Until that time, his work had been predominantly religious, but in Mantua he began producing more secular and allegorical subjects. Mantua was one of the leading centers of humanist culture in Europe and Mantegna’s work celebrated this, as he produced some of his finest works for the Gonzaga court, including his famous frescoes in the Camera degli Sposi (Wedding Chamber) at the Palazzo Ducale. These included paintings in one room, featuring a sky on the ceiling with men and women looking down from above using complex foreshortening. In 1484 he was knighted; a rare honor for an artist. From about 1490, he also began to produce engravings which helped spread his name beyond Italy.
Key Works
Adoration of the Magi 1462, GALLERIA DEGLI UFFIZI, FLORENCE, ITALY
Camera degli Sposi 1473, PALAZZO DUCALE, MANTUA, ITALY
The Lamentation over the Dead Christ c.1480, PINACOTECA DI BRERA, MILAN, ITALY
St. Sebastian 1480, MUSÉE DU LOUVRE, PARIS, FRANCE
Madonna with the Cherubim 1485, PINACOTECA DI BRERA, MILAN, ITALY
BOTTICELLI
1445–1510 • RENAISSANCE
The Birth of Venus
c.1485 TEMPERA ON CANVAS
172 × 285 CM (67¾ × 112¼ IN)
GALLERIA DEGLI UFFIZI, FLORENCE, ITALY
This was the first large-scale Renaissance painting of a mythological subject and believed to be the first Renaissance nude painting in Europe. Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty, has emerged from the sea and is being wafted ashore by Zephyr, the West Wind and his bride, Flora. A nymph, symbolizing rebirth, greets her with a cloak; the anemone between her feet heralds the arrival of spring. The model for Venus was Simonetta Vespucci, mistress of Guiliano de’ Medici, who died before Botticelli painted her. She stands in the Venus Pudica pose, which is modest and chaste, framed by her flowing, golden hair, while her elegant fingers delicately cover her modesty.
Under the patronage of Lorenzo de’ Medici, Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi, better known as Sandro Botticelli, became the foremost painter in Florence during the late 14th century. His graceful contours and spirituality combine the decorative Gothic style with the emotion of humanism and the spatial illusions of Florentine art.
Florentine-born Botticelli was apprenticed to a goldsmith at 14 and by the age of 17 he was training in the workshop of the artist Fra Filippo Lippi (1406–69). It is possible that he traveled to Hungary for a short time to work on a fresco ordered in Lippi’s workshop. On completion of his training, he painted frescoes in local churches and cathedrals with the painter and engraver Antonio del Pollaiuolo (1429/33–98), from whom he learned the art of creating an illusion of dynamism. He was also influenced by Masaccio’s spatial management and the fine modeling of Andrea del Verrocchio (c.1435–88), while from Lippi himself, he had learned decorative techniques and an understanding of form. By 1470, Botticelli had his own workshop and his sinuous, rhythmic style and soft colors soon attracted some of the greatest patrons of the day, including the Roman Catholic Church and wealthy Florentine families, in particular the Medici.
Integrating classical and humanist notions with Christianity, Botticelli produced life-sized mythological and religious paintings, altarpieces and graceful Madonnas. In 1481, Pope Sixtus IV summoned him to Rome to paint frescoes for the Sistine Chapel. Back in Florence the following year, he painted Primavera for Lorenzo de’ Medici’s wedding. He also painted portraits, which were becoming popular because the new merchant class wanted to be immortalized as themselves, and not just depicted as extras in religious scenes.
The golden years of Medici power in Florence ended in a revolution in 1491. The fanatical Dominican monk, Girolamo Savonarola, dominated Florence, preaching against spiritual corruption. Instituting the “Bonfires of the Vanities,” Savonarola encouraged Florentines to burn their possessions and save their souls. The emotion in Botticelli’s late religious paintings, and the symbolism he employs, suggest that he was involved in the upheavals. He began painting only religious subjects and was soon replaced by a new generation of artists, including Leonardo and Michelangelo. Lost in obscurity for centuries, it was only in the 19th century, when the Pre-Raphaelites rediscovered his works, that he became appreciated once more.
Key Works
Primavera or The Allegory of Spring c.1482, GALLERIA DEGLI UFFIZI, FLORENCE, ITALY
Venus and Mars 1483, NATIONAL GALLERY, LONDON, UK
Madonna Adoring the Child with Five Angels 1485–90, BALTIMORE MUSEUM OF ART, BALTIMORE, MD, US
The Cestello Annunciation c.1489, GALLERIA DEGLI UFFIZI, FLORENCE, ITALY
GHIRLANDAIO
1449–1494 • RENAISSANCE
The Visitation
1491 TEMPERA ON WOOD
172 × 167 CM (67½ × 65 IN)
MUSÉE DU LOUVRE, PARIS, FRANCE
This unusually lifelike scene of Mary visiting her cousin Elizabeth includes Mary Salome praying, while Mary Jacobi looks out of the picture. Cut off at the edges, the two figures create an impression of dynamism, while the central figures are positioned against a light-filled landscape.
A highly successful Florentine painter, Domenico di Tommaso Curradi di Doffo Bigordi, nicknamed Ghirlandaio, is renowned for training Michelangelo in fresco techniques. Ghirlandaio became known for his descriptive frescoes.
The nickname “Il Ghirlandaio” (garland-maker) derived from his goldsmith father, who made garland necklaces that were popular with Florentine women. The eldest of eight children, Ghirlandaio was initially apprenticed to his father. While training, he drew portraits, so his apprenticeship was transferred to the painter Alessio Baldovinetti (1425–99) to study painting and mosaic. It is probable that he also trained for a while with the painter and sculptor Andrea del Verrocchio (1435–88).
Compared to some of his prominent contemporaries, Ghirlandaio was rather conservative. He rarely used oils, preferring fresco and tempera, and he consolidated ideas and techniques rather than advancing them. Inspired by Masaccio and the Flemish painters, he ended up running one of the most successful workshops in Florence with his younger brothers. His frescoes were particularly popular as they often included portraits of his patrons. In 1481, he was commissioned to produce frescoes for the library of Pope Sixtus IV in Rome and part of the Sistine Chapel.
In 1486, the wealthy banker Giovanni Tornabuoni commissioned him to paint frescoes in the choir of Santa Maria Novella, illustrating scenes from the lives of the Virgin and St. John the Baptist. Ghirlandaio and his assistants depicted the story as if it had occurred in a contemporary gentleman’s home. Reading like a sophisticated cartoon strip, his compositions were complex, the colors soft and subtle and the inclusion of Tornabuoni and his family made the work extremely popular. Members of the Florentine upper class were impressed by his realism and attention to detail, and he remained busy and highly esteemed throughout his life.
Key Works
Old Man with a Young Boy c.1480, LOUVRE, PARIS, FRANCE
Last Supper 1480, CONVENT OF SAN MARCO, REFECTORY, FLORENCE, ITALY