Annunciation

Sandro Botticelli prints bring the grace and poetry of the Florentine Renaissance into your home. Botticelli painted The Birth of Venus and Primavera for the circle of the Medici, along with dozens of tender Madonnas and some of the finest portraits of his age. Our collection of fine art prints includes his mythological paintings, religious works, portraits and drawings.

About Sandro Botticelli

Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi was born in Florence around 1445, in the Ognissanti neighbourhood where he lived all his life. His father was a tanner who later became a gold-beater, and the painter is said to have trained first as a goldsmith. From around 1461 he was apprenticed to Fra Filippo Lippi, one of the leading Florentine painters and a favourite of the Medici.

He was an independent master through the 1470s, when his reputation soared. Apart from months in Pisa in 1474, his only significant time away from Florence was in 1481–1482, when he painted frescoes in the Sistine Chapel in Rome. The 1480s were his most successful decade, bringing his great mythological paintings and many of his best-known Madonnas, made for Lorenzo de' Medici and his circle.

Botticelli had a lifelong interest in Dante and made drawings for a printed edition of the Divine Comedy and a luxurious illustrated manuscript. In the 1490s his style became more personal and intense, perhaps influenced by the preacher Savonarola. He died in Florence in May 1510 and was buried in the church of Ognissanti. His reputation faded until the Pre-Raphaelites rediscovered him in the nineteenth century.

Style and Subjects

Botticelli's art is all about line and grace. His figures are slender and elegant, with flowing hair and drapery that seem to move in a gentle breeze, and faces of quiet, dreamy beauty. Colours are clear and delicate, and outlines crisp.

He painted classical myths, many Madonnas and Holy Families, often in round tondo shapes, and fine portraits. His late works are more emotional and severe, returning to an older, more decorative style.

Famous Works

• Adoration of the Magi (about 1475), Uffizi Gallery, Florence. The Magi before the Holy Family, with members of the Medici among the crowd.
• Primavera (about 1480), Uffizi Gallery, Florence. Venus, the Three Graces and Flora in a flowering orange grove.
• Pallas and the Centaur (about 1482), Uffizi Gallery, Florence. The goddess of wisdom taming a centaur.
• Portrait of a Woman (Simonetta Vespucci as a Nymph) (about 1482), Städel Museum, Frankfurt. An idealised beauty in profile, traditionally linked to Simonetta Vespucci.
• Madonna of the Magnificat (about 1483), Uffizi Gallery, Florence. A round painting of the Virgin writing the Magnificat, surrounded by angels.
• The Birth of Venus (about 1485), Uffizi Gallery, Florence. Venus arrives on a scallop shell, blown to shore by the winds.
• Mystic Nativity (1501), National Gallery, London. His only dated painting, a joyful and visionary Nativity.

Decorating with Botticelli Prints

Botticelli's mythological paintings suit living rooms, bedrooms and dining rooms, and work in both classic and modern interiors. The Birth of Venus is a natural choice for a bathroom or bedroom, and Primavera's flowers and soft greens suit a garden room or sitting room.

His Madonnas, such as the Madonna of the Magnificat, bring calm to a bedroom, nursery or reading corner, and his portraits look elegant in a hallway or study. Gilt or dark wood frames echo their Renaissance character.

FAQ

What are Sandro Botticelli's most famous paintings?

The Birth of Venus and Primavera, both in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, are his most famous works.

What art movement was Botticelli part of?

Botticelli was a painter of the Early Renaissance in Florence. His graceful, linear style looks back to late Gothic art as well as forward.

Who taught Botticelli?

He was apprenticed from around 1461 to Fra Filippo Lippi, one of the leading painters in Florence and a favourite of the Medici.

Did Botticelli work in the Sistine Chapel?

Yes. In 1481–1482 he painted frescoes on the walls of the Sistine Chapel in Rome, including the Trials of Moses and the Temptations of Christ.

Who was Simonetta Vespucci?

Simonetta Vespucci was a famous Florentine beauty who died aged 22 in 1476. Tradition links her to Botticelli's ideal women, though historians think this unlikely.

Related Artists

• Filippo Lippi: his teacher in Florence
• Filippino Lippi: son of his teacher, who trained in Botticelli's workshop
• Domenico Ghirlandaio: fellow Florentine who also painted in the Sistine Chapel
• Pietro Perugino: fellow painter of the Sistine Chapel walls
• Dante Gabriel Rossetti: Pre-Raphaelite who helped revive his reputation