His most famous patrons were members of the infamous Medici family.

Botticelli Fact Sheet: Who was Botticelli? The following short biography and fact sheet provides interesting facts about the life, times and history of Botticelli, the famous Florentine Renaissance Artist.

Botticelli Fact File: Lifespan: 1445 – 1510 *** Full Name: Alessandro di Mariano Filipepi but known as Sandro Botticelli *** Date of Birth (Birthday): He was born in 1445, the exact date is unknown *** Place of Birth: Botticelli was born in Florence *** Family background: Early life and childhood: Botticelli grew up and spent the majority of his life in Florence *** Education: Botticelli began his artistic education when he was apprenticed to Fra Filippo Lippi *** Botticelli died on May 17th 1510

Botticelli Fact 1: Sandro Botticelli, the famous Florentine Renaissance Artist, was born in in Florence, Italy in the year 1445 and died on May 17th 1510.

Botticelli Fact 1: His full name was Alessandro di Mariano Filipepi and his first name, Alessandro, became shortened to Sandro. The name Botticelli, meaning 'Little Barrel', was the nickname of his well rounded older brother. The name was 'Botticelli' became so familiar in Florence that eventually it was conferred upon every family member.

Botticelli Fact 2: Family – His father, Mariano di Vanni, was a tanner who apprenticed Sandro to his brother Antonio a goldsmith after his basic education was finished.

Botticelli Fact 3: Work – He preferred painting to the work of a goldsmith so his father then apprenticed him to the Renaissance artist Fra Filippo Lippi. Botticelli travelled to Hungary with Fra Filippo Lippiand contributed to a fresco being created there. Fra Filippo Lippi taught Sandro Botticelli the techniques
of fresco and panel painting and was a great influence on his later work.

Botticelli Fact 4: Botticelli established his own workshop in 1470 and became a member of St Lukes Guild, the Florentine painters’ guild.

Botticelli Fact 5: The powerful Medici family were patrons of the arts in Renaissance Italy and recognizing the talent of the young artists commissioned him with various work. Botticelli's skill in portraiture gained him the patronage of the Medici family.

Botticelli Fact 6: His painting entitled the "Adoration of the Magi", painted in 1475, includes several of the infamous Medici family. The "Adoration of the Magi" depicted likenesses of Cosimo de' Medici and his sons Piero and Giovanni as the Magi together with images of his grandsons Giuliano and Lorenzo. The three Medici portrayed as Magi were all dead at the time the picture was painted.

Botticelli Fact 7: His artistic skills in panel painting led to his beautiful work with altar pieces. These included the vertical panels at St. Sebastian (1474), the small oblong panels depicting the famous Adoration of the Magi( c. 1476) at the Church of Santa Maria Novella and the magnificent Bardi Altarpiece (1484–85) and the equally stunning Coronation of the Virgin (c.1490).

Botticelli Fact 8: Also adept at creating magnificent frescoes led to the creation of St. Augustine (1480) in the Church of Ognissanti. He also collaborated with other Renaissance artists to create the religious frescoes of the Sistine Chapel in 1481.

Botticelli Fact 9: During his later life it became fashionable for paintings to depict scences from classical antiquity combined with the concept of courtly love. Mythical figures and scenes were inspired by classical literature and led to the creation of four of Botticelli’s most famous works of art and panel paintings. These famous works were Primavera (c. 1477–82), Pallas and the Centaur (c. 1485), Venus and Mars (c. 1485), and The Birth of Venus (c. 1485).

Botticelli Fact 10: The Primavera and The Birth of Venus were painted for the home of Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de’Medici. The Primavera, also known as Allegory of Spring, depicts a group of mythological figures in the mythical Garden of the Hesperides, as an allegory for the growth of Spring and blossoming love.

Botticelli Fact 11: The style of his later artistic works saw a distinct change from romantic themes to more realistic depictions. From 1494 there were great changes in florence as the corrupt House of Medici fell and was replaced by a Repulican government. People were inspired by the religious teachings of the Dominican friar and preacher, Girolamo Savonarola. The Tragedy of Lucretia (c. 1499) and The Story of Virginia Romana (1499) appear to condemn the tyranny of the Medici family and to celebrate the ideals of republicanism.

Botticelli Fact 12: Botticelli became a devout follower of Savonarola and was inspired to create his works entitled Mystic Crucifixion (1497) and the Mystic Nativity (1501), which expressed Botticelli’s own faith in the renewal of the Catholic church.

Botticelli Fact 13: Famous – His most well-known pieces include Primavera and The Birth of Venus. His masterpiece 'The Birth of Venus' was painted for the villa of Lorenzo Medici and is now in the Uffizi in Florence. Unlike many of his contemporaries his works remained largely in the villas and churches that they were created for.

Botticelli Fact 14: Death – He died on May 17th 1510 in Florence, Italy and he was buried in the Church of Ognissanti.

List of Famous Works by Botticelli: The Adoration of the Magi *** Madonna and Child and Two Angels *** Madonna of the Book (Madonna del Libro) *** Primavera *** The Birth of Venus *** The Mystical Nativity *** Mystic Crucifixion