Biography Sandro Botticelli. Works of the artist, known throughout the world

Sandro Botticelli, whose works are an invaluable heritage that embodied the gleams of bygone times - an outstanding painter of the Renaissance, a bright figure against the backdrop of painters of the period of Lorenzo the Magnificent.

Biography of the Italian artist

The real name of Botticelli is Alessandro di Mariano Filippe. The nickname of Botticelli was inherited from his older brother and in translation means "barrel". Florentian Sandro Botticelli, whose works arouse the admiration of the whole world, was born in 1445 in the family of a tanner of skin and was the youngest son. Father Mariano Filipepi with his wife Zmeralda rented an apartment, his own studio gave a very modest income, so the tanner dreamed of successfully attaching his sons and leaving his craft. In 1458, Sandro worked as an apprentice in his brother's jeweler's shop. Podnatorev in this subtle art, demanding confidence and accuracy in drafting, soon became interested in painting and two years later he enrolled as a pupil to the Florentine painter Fra Filippo Lippi, who studied until the age of 22.

The first lessons of Botticelli

Valuable lessons of jewelry skill were useful to the artist in the future: the famous works by Sandro Botticelli are characterized by the clarity of the contour lines and the professional use of gold, used in its pure form to depict the background or as an impurity to the paints. Time spent in the workshop of the mentor, flowed for the boy productively and fun. The disciple became a follower of his teacher and imitated him in everything. The latter, responding reciprocally to such sincere devotion and the desire to absorb as much as possible the knowledge, tried to give Botticelli all that was in his power. The style of the first teacher had a huge influence on the style of writing Botticelli paintings, especially on ornamental details, color and type of persons.

Further, Sandro, eager for new knowledge, became a visitor to the workshop of Andrea Verrocchio, an Italian sculptor and painter, a versatile man who led a team of talented artists. The setting of creative search, prevalent among the people of art, is clearly expressed in the first works of the Florentine master: "The Madonna with the Child and the Two Angels" and "The Madonna in the Rosary." It is in them that the experience received by Botticelli from their teachers is clearly traced. In 1467 the Florentine decided to open his own workshop.

The main works of Sandro Botticelli: "Allegory of Power"

The first order the artist performed in 1470 for the hall of the Commercial Court - an urban institution that considered cases of economic violations. It was a picture of the "Power Allegory" depicting a figure sitting on a deep throne. As the embodiment of conviction and moral strength, the "Power" of Botticelli expresses instability and inner fragility in his pose.

1472 for Sandro marked the enrollment in the association of artists - the Guild of St. Luke, which gave the painter the opportunity to maintain the shop on a legal basis, surrounded himself with helpers. One of the pupils of Botticelli was the son of a former teacher - Filippino Lippi.

The fame of the Florentine painter

By 1475, Sandro Botticelli, whose works are mostly written on biblical and mythological themes, became a well-known and sought after master. The artist painted pictures for churches, created frescoes, gradually replacing the philosophy, which was adopted from Filippo and flat linearity, by a new comprehension of volumes and a more powerful treatment of figures. Unlike his first teacher, whose works are inherent in the pale palette, the painter enriched his paintings with a bright color, gradually gaining more and more saturation. Also, Sandro Botticelli, whose paintings embody the spirit of the Renaissance, for the transfer of flesh-colored color began to use buffy shadows - a reception that became a feature of his style of writing canvases.

Famous works by Sandro Botticelli

A photo of the Italian artist's paintings convey the immense talent of the Florentine, who left a bright mark in the creative heritage of his country. Many of Sandro Botticelli's works date back to the 1470s, although not all of them have an exact dating. The time of writing most of them was determined by stylistic analysis. To this time period belong such canvases as "Adoration of the Magi" (1475), "St. Sebastian "(1473)," Portrait of the Florentine Lady "(1470) and" Portrait of a Young Man "(1470). Approximately in 1476 was painted a portrait of the brother of Lorenzo the Magnificent - Giuliano Medici, who was killed during the 1478 conspiracy. Botticelli closely contacted the Medici family - the undisputed rulers of Florence. It was for Giuliano that the artist painted the banner for the tournament in 1475.

The individuality of the style of Botticelli

In the works of the period of the 1470s, one can trace the gradual growth of the artistic ability of the Florentine author: in his paintings the borrowed styles of other artists and stylistic fluctuations disappeared. Botticelli has his own style of writing: the characters of his paintings are characterized by a strong structure, the contours are characterized by vigor, elegance and clarity, and dramatic imagery is achieved by combining a strong inner mood and active action. These components are present in the fresco "St. Augustine" (1480). The artist was strong in writing a still life. The objects present in his paintings are depicted accurately and clearly, expressing the author's ability to correctly grasp the essence of the form. However, they do not come to the fore, focusing the viewer's attention on key characters. As a background, Sandro Botticelli, whose paintings are represented in the most famous world galleries, used Gothic churches, castle walls, thus achieving a picturesque romantic effect.

Frescoes for the Sistine Chapel

His orders Sandro Botticelli, whose works lead the audience in full delight, mostly received in Florence. One of the most famous paintings - "Saint Sebastian", written for the oldest city church of Santa Maria Maggiore. The canvas, solemnly placed on one of the church columns in January 1474, firmly established itself in the artistic panorama of Florence. In 1481, Sandro Botticelli, along with Domenico Ghirlandaio and Cosimo Rosselli, received an invitation from Pope Sixtus IV to Rome to paint the frescoes on the lateral walls of the Sistine Chapel just built. In his works "The Healing of the Leper and the Temptation of Christ", "The Punishment of Korea" and "Scenes from the Life of Moses," the author masterfully solved the problem of interpreting the complex theological program: using composition effects in full, interpreted it in lively, clear, light dramatic scenes.

Mythological trend in the canvases of Botticelli

Returning in 1482 to Florence, Sandro buried his father. After a short break, I took up painting again. This time was the peak of Botticelli's fame: customers went to his workshop in droves, so some of the orders were performed by the master's students, while he himself undertook complex and prestigious orders. At this time, the world saw the famous works of Sandro Botticelli: "Pallas and Centaur", "Spring", "Venus and Mars", "The Birth of Venus", among the most valuable works of the Renaissance and are the true masterpieces of Western European art. Plots of these paintings, in which the influence of ancient art and the excellent knowledge of classical sculpture is clearly felt, are inspired by mythology.

"Birth of Venus"

"Birth of Venus" symbolizes the myth of the union of matter and the life-giving spirit inhaling life in it. Perfection of the human race is embodied in the figure of Ory, the cloak of modesty stretching out to the goddess - a historical moment, which was very clearly and painstakingly captured by the Italian master Sandro Botticelli.

Paintings, the list of which is quite extensive, at later stages began to be characterized by signs of a certain mannerism, so to speak, self-admiration of one's own skill. To increase the psychological expressiveness goes to the violation of the proportions of the figures. It is known that Botticelli often ordered sketches for engravings and fabrics, but until now only a small part of these drawings have reached.

Famous paintings of the Italian

The canvas "Wedding of the Mother of God" (1490) is imbued with disturbing anxiety, anxiety of feelings and bright hopes. The angels sealed in the painting convey alarm, in the gesture of St. Hieronymus traces the confidence and dignity. The work feels a certain departure from the perfection of proportions, the increase in tension, the intensification of the sharpness of color - a certain change in the style inherent in Sandro Botticelli. Works, photos of canvases express the desire for deep drama, which can be clearly seen in the picture "Abandoned", the plot of which is taken from the Bible: Tamar, which was expelled by Ammon. The artistic embodiment of this historical fact carries a universal meaning: an understanding of the weakness of a woman, sympathy for loneliness and the despair held by her, a dull barrier in the form of a thick wall and locked gates.

The last years of the Italian artist's life

In 1493, Botticelli buried his beloved brother Giovanni, Florence at this time said goodbye to Lorenzo the Magnificent. In the city - the former cradle of humanistic thought - the revolutionary speeches of Savonaroda sounded. The creative crisis came in the life of Sandro Botticelli. Pictures, the description of which is characterized by deep sorrow and longing, express a complete decline in the mood of the author. The sermons of Savonaroda about the coming end of the world led to the fact that the people in February 1497 in the central square made a huge fire, in which valuable works of art were burned. Mass psychosis also succumbed to some artists, among whom was Botticelli. In the flames, he burned several of his sketches, although there is no exact evidence of this deed. Soon Savonarola was accused of heresy and publicly executed.

By the end of his life, Botticelli was very lonely, became weak and sick. According to contemporaries, the artist was able to move only with the help of crutches. His past glory has remained in the past, orders have ceased to arrive: times have changed, a new era of art has come to replace. The artist was never married and had no children. Sandro Botticelli died all alone in 1510.