DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.42071#0064
BOTTICELLI
5°
BOTTICELLI
fresco of “ S. Dominic ” by Domenico Ghirlandajo.
Here appears strongly the profound influence of
Castagno upon Botticelli. Before this (c. 1478)
were commissioned his paintings for Lorenzo di
Pierfrancesco de’ Medici, to decorate his villa of
Castello (now Villa Reale) with allegories dealing with
subjects inspired by the Humanist Revival. This
Medici was the patron for whom Botticelli executed
his drawings of the “ Divina Commedia,” and was
himself a poet. To the above class of subject
belong the fascinating “ Spring” (Primavera) of the
Uffizi Gallery (formerly in A.M.G.), the “ Mars and
Venus ” (London, National Gallery) and the lovely
“ Birth of Venus,” inspired by the lines in the
“ Stanze per la Giostra di Giuliano de’ Medici ” of
Angelo Poliziano. The “ Primavera ” (cf. here
Vasari and Anon. Gaddiano) is in tempera, un-
varnished and well preserved.
The “ Pallas and Centaur,” which was discovered
in the Pitti Palace (or rather recovered) in 1895 by
Mr. Spence, belongs to the same class of allegorical
subject, and is mentioned by Vasari as in Casa
Medici; but is not considered by Mr. Horne {op. cit.)
to be that which was originally painted for il Mag-
nifico, which has disappeared. The “Bacchus and
Ariadne,” a unique print of which is in the British
Museum, seems to connect itself with Lorenzo’s
Carnival Song or “ Triumph ”; and Vasari adds that
“ in the city he—[B.]—made in different houses
roundels (tonde) by his own hand and plenty {assai)
of nude figures of women ”; which last may have
perished during the pietist revival under Savanarola,
when many such works were burnt in public.
As a convinced Piagnone, Sandro himself may
have aided even in the work of destruction. Their
loss is to be regretted, for this master’s treatment
of the figure is most individual in sentiment and
exquisite in its sense of line.
An earlier Denunzia of Mariano Filippi (1457)
says that “ I find myself at the age of sixty-five
years able to work little at my craft, my wife of
the age of fifty-three years . . . Giovanni, my son,
a broker of the age of thirty-seven years . . .
Sandro, my son, at the age of thirteen, at his books
and in ill health.” These Denunzie or Portate were
returns for taxation. A later Denunzia (c. Jan. 30,
1480-81) is drafted by Giovanni, the eldest son, and
states : “ Our Mariano is aged eighty-six years,
and no longer works . . . Giovanni, his son,
formerly broker, is aged sixty years . . . Sandro
di Mariano, of the age of thirty-three years, is a
painter. He works in the house when he wills ” (“ in
Chasa quando e vole ”). This “ house for our
dwelling ” was situate in the Via Nuova, in front
of San Luca d’Ognissanti, and they hired another
house adjoining. In 1498 Sandro and his brother
Simone were living in the first of these two houses,
the second being rented by their brother Antonio.
Mariano had possession of six parcels of land in
the parish of S. Maria a Peretola, near Florence,
without Porta al Prato; and although this Denunzia
(1480-81) shows that Sandro had no real property,
he seems to have had three pupils {discepoli):
Jacopo di Domenico Toschi (aet. 17), Giovanni di
Benedetto Cianfanini {aet. 18), and Rafaello di
Lorenzo Tosi {aet. 11). [Editor’s note.—Toschi
was called Jacopo de Sandro. Another p. was
Biagio di Antonio Tucci (see later).] He appears
among the debtors of the company of S. Luca in
1482 for dues 10 soldi; in 1503 for 17 soldi, 4
danari; in 1505 for 17 soldi (R. Archivio di Stato,
Florence); and among the “ Men of the Body ” of
that Company (Gli uomini del Corpo) beside Andrea
Verrocchio, P. and carver, Antonio Pollajuolo,P.and
goldsmith, as Alessandro di Mariano, dipintore. It
may be noted here that, besides the p.’s just
mentioned, Filippino Lippi “ was left at his father’s
death under the guidance of Sandro Botticelli, who
had himself been the Frate’s pupil ” {v. Selwyn
Brinton, “ Renaissance in Italian Art,” Part III.,
“ The Medici at Florence ”). An important tribute
to our artist’s position at Florence is given by a
report of a confidential agent of Duke Lodovico of
Milan {v. Horne, op. cit.), who mentions as the
leading Master there “ Sandro Botticelli, a most
excellent painter, both on panel and wall: his works
have a virile air and are (executed) with the greatest
judgment and perfect proportion.” This “ virile
air ” may connect itself with the influence, already
noted, of Castagno.
In 1481 our artist had been summoned to Rome by
Pope Sixtus IV., and engaged, with other leading
Florentine and Umbrian P.’s—Domenico Ghir-
landajo, Cosimo Rosselli, Perugino and Luca
Signorelli—to adorn with fresco paintings the walls
of the Sistine Chapel. Sandro’s contributions to
these are the three fine frescoes on the left wall as
we enter, depicting the “ Trials of Moses in the Land
of Midian,” the “ Temptation of Christ,” and the
“Destruction of Korah and his Company.” The
Sistine frescoes were completed in 1482, when Sandro
returned, with Domenico Ghirlandajo, to Florence
before August 31. In this same year his portrait
may have been painted by his p. Filippino Lippi in
the frescoes of the Brancacci Chapel of the Carmine
church; his altar-piece of the Capella Bardi, S.
Spirito (now Kaiser Friedrich Museum), is a little
later (1485), and earlier is the delightful “ Calumny
of Apelles ” (Uffizi) from Lucian’s story, mentioned
by Vasari as painted for—or presented to—Botti-
celli’s friend, Fabio Segni.
The frescoes of the Villa Lemmi (formerly Villa
Tornabuoni), now in the Musee du Louvre, may
precede this last work, which they resemble in their
composition. They represent Lorenzo Tornabuoni
in the circle of the seven Liberal Arts, and Giovanna
Tornabuoni, his wife, with the Graces. The lady,
who here receives Venus and the three Graces, was a
Florentine of great beauty, whose portrait is intro-
duced by Dom. Ghirlandajo in his frescoes of S.M.,
5°
BOTTICELLI
fresco of “ S. Dominic ” by Domenico Ghirlandajo.
Here appears strongly the profound influence of
Castagno upon Botticelli. Before this (c. 1478)
were commissioned his paintings for Lorenzo di
Pierfrancesco de’ Medici, to decorate his villa of
Castello (now Villa Reale) with allegories dealing with
subjects inspired by the Humanist Revival. This
Medici was the patron for whom Botticelli executed
his drawings of the “ Divina Commedia,” and was
himself a poet. To the above class of subject
belong the fascinating “ Spring” (Primavera) of the
Uffizi Gallery (formerly in A.M.G.), the “ Mars and
Venus ” (London, National Gallery) and the lovely
“ Birth of Venus,” inspired by the lines in the
“ Stanze per la Giostra di Giuliano de’ Medici ” of
Angelo Poliziano. The “ Primavera ” (cf. here
Vasari and Anon. Gaddiano) is in tempera, un-
varnished and well preserved.
The “ Pallas and Centaur,” which was discovered
in the Pitti Palace (or rather recovered) in 1895 by
Mr. Spence, belongs to the same class of allegorical
subject, and is mentioned by Vasari as in Casa
Medici; but is not considered by Mr. Horne {op. cit.)
to be that which was originally painted for il Mag-
nifico, which has disappeared. The “Bacchus and
Ariadne,” a unique print of which is in the British
Museum, seems to connect itself with Lorenzo’s
Carnival Song or “ Triumph ”; and Vasari adds that
“ in the city he—[B.]—made in different houses
roundels (tonde) by his own hand and plenty {assai)
of nude figures of women ”; which last may have
perished during the pietist revival under Savanarola,
when many such works were burnt in public.
As a convinced Piagnone, Sandro himself may
have aided even in the work of destruction. Their
loss is to be regretted, for this master’s treatment
of the figure is most individual in sentiment and
exquisite in its sense of line.
An earlier Denunzia of Mariano Filippi (1457)
says that “ I find myself at the age of sixty-five
years able to work little at my craft, my wife of
the age of fifty-three years . . . Giovanni, my son,
a broker of the age of thirty-seven years . . .
Sandro, my son, at the age of thirteen, at his books
and in ill health.” These Denunzie or Portate were
returns for taxation. A later Denunzia (c. Jan. 30,
1480-81) is drafted by Giovanni, the eldest son, and
states : “ Our Mariano is aged eighty-six years,
and no longer works . . . Giovanni, his son,
formerly broker, is aged sixty years . . . Sandro
di Mariano, of the age of thirty-three years, is a
painter. He works in the house when he wills ” (“ in
Chasa quando e vole ”). This “ house for our
dwelling ” was situate in the Via Nuova, in front
of San Luca d’Ognissanti, and they hired another
house adjoining. In 1498 Sandro and his brother
Simone were living in the first of these two houses,
the second being rented by their brother Antonio.
Mariano had possession of six parcels of land in
the parish of S. Maria a Peretola, near Florence,
without Porta al Prato; and although this Denunzia
(1480-81) shows that Sandro had no real property,
he seems to have had three pupils {discepoli):
Jacopo di Domenico Toschi (aet. 17), Giovanni di
Benedetto Cianfanini {aet. 18), and Rafaello di
Lorenzo Tosi {aet. 11). [Editor’s note.—Toschi
was called Jacopo de Sandro. Another p. was
Biagio di Antonio Tucci (see later).] He appears
among the debtors of the company of S. Luca in
1482 for dues 10 soldi; in 1503 for 17 soldi, 4
danari; in 1505 for 17 soldi (R. Archivio di Stato,
Florence); and among the “ Men of the Body ” of
that Company (Gli uomini del Corpo) beside Andrea
Verrocchio, P. and carver, Antonio Pollajuolo,P.and
goldsmith, as Alessandro di Mariano, dipintore. It
may be noted here that, besides the p.’s just
mentioned, Filippino Lippi “ was left at his father’s
death under the guidance of Sandro Botticelli, who
had himself been the Frate’s pupil ” {v. Selwyn
Brinton, “ Renaissance in Italian Art,” Part III.,
“ The Medici at Florence ”). An important tribute
to our artist’s position at Florence is given by a
report of a confidential agent of Duke Lodovico of
Milan {v. Horne, op. cit.), who mentions as the
leading Master there “ Sandro Botticelli, a most
excellent painter, both on panel and wall: his works
have a virile air and are (executed) with the greatest
judgment and perfect proportion.” This “ virile
air ” may connect itself with the influence, already
noted, of Castagno.
In 1481 our artist had been summoned to Rome by
Pope Sixtus IV., and engaged, with other leading
Florentine and Umbrian P.’s—Domenico Ghir-
landajo, Cosimo Rosselli, Perugino and Luca
Signorelli—to adorn with fresco paintings the walls
of the Sistine Chapel. Sandro’s contributions to
these are the three fine frescoes on the left wall as
we enter, depicting the “ Trials of Moses in the Land
of Midian,” the “ Temptation of Christ,” and the
“Destruction of Korah and his Company.” The
Sistine frescoes were completed in 1482, when Sandro
returned, with Domenico Ghirlandajo, to Florence
before August 31. In this same year his portrait
may have been painted by his p. Filippino Lippi in
the frescoes of the Brancacci Chapel of the Carmine
church; his altar-piece of the Capella Bardi, S.
Spirito (now Kaiser Friedrich Museum), is a little
later (1485), and earlier is the delightful “ Calumny
of Apelles ” (Uffizi) from Lucian’s story, mentioned
by Vasari as painted for—or presented to—Botti-
celli’s friend, Fabio Segni.
The frescoes of the Villa Lemmi (formerly Villa
Tornabuoni), now in the Musee du Louvre, may
precede this last work, which they resemble in their
composition. They represent Lorenzo Tornabuoni
in the circle of the seven Liberal Arts, and Giovanna
Tornabuoni, his wife, with the Graces. The lady,
who here receives Venus and the three Graces, was a
Florentine of great beauty, whose portrait is intro-
duced by Dom. Ghirlandajo in his frescoes of S.M.,