Botticelli

(Hardback)

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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, Ren Magritte to Cindy Sherman. Par la protection de la puissante famille des Mdicis, grce une multitude d'uvres profanes et religieuses et ses contributions la clbre chapelle Sixtine, Sandro Botticelli (1444/1445-1510) tait bien plac pour devenir clbre. Pourtant, aprs sa mort, son uvre tomba pendant prs de 400 ans dans l'oubli. Ce n'est qu' partir du XIXe sicle que le peintre commena gagner les faveurs des historiens de l'art. Aujourd'hui, Botticelli est salu comme une figure dterminante des dbuts de la Renaissance florentine. Ses uvres profanes, La Naissance de Vnus et Primavera, considre comme une allgorie du printemps, figurent parmi les peintures les plus reconnues au monde, brillant par la finesse de leur dtail, leurs lignes gracieuses et leur agencement quilibr. Ses compositions sont aussi fluides qu'ordonnes, ses personnages sont autant sereins que sensuels. En particulier, Vnus est l'icne de la beaut en histoire de l'art avec son teint ple, sa dlicatesse, sa douceur promesse de fcondit. En prsentant les uvres cl de Botticelli, cette introduction incontournable claire la face cache de cette lgende de la Renaissance. travers les scnes mythologiques et les allgories les plus connues du peintre, sans oublier ses peintures religieuses rayonnantes, on explore sa matrise de la figuration, du mouvement et de la ligne, qui n'a cess d'inspirer les artistes, d'Edgar Degas Andy Warhol, de Ren Magritte Cindy Sherman.

Author Bio

Barbara Deimling started working at Syracuse University in Florence in 1997 and was its director from 20002009; in this capacity she was responsible for all matters relating to the Florence Center. She has published books about Italian Renaissance painting.