Sandro Botticelli..............................................................................

Lecture 17

Botticelli was very popular in Britain during this period. But, it is an

oversimpli¿ cation of Botticelli’s art, as we shall see, to call him only a

“master of linearity.”

W

e will delve into many of Botticelli’s works to develop an
understanding of his artistic range. We will also consider the
historical times in which he lived and focus on a few events that
may have inÀ uenced his painting. In the late 19th century, no name in 15th-
century Renaissance painting was held in higher regard than that of Sandro
Botticelli (1445–1510). He had a reputation as one of the greatest masters
of the single line, or pure linearity, and his elegant, attenuated ¿ gures, and
his admirers were considered persons of high taste. Yet his reputation in his
lifetime was tied to the turbulent political and religious events of the day,
the fortunes of his Medici patrons, and his own changeable temperament.
Botticelli fell from favor in the early 20th century, only to regain it as the range
of intellectual and emotional expression in his art was better understood. It is
this stylistic variety and the political upheaval of the last quarter of the 15th
century that we will discuss in this lecture.

Our ¿ rst image shows Botticelli’s Mars and Venus (c. 1475–1478), which has
also been dated in the 1480s. This is just one example of the dating problems
with Botticelli. This painting was probably a decoration for a bed, bench, or
chest to celebrate a wedding. The painting shows a sensually clothed Venus
regarding her lover, the naked god of war Mars. Baby satyrs have taken over
his helmet and lance, clearly a phallic symbol, and one blows a conch shell in
his ear, but nothing wakes him from his deep sleep after lovemaking. Venus
remains alert and in command. The pronounced sensuality of this painting
often surprises the viewer who associates Botticelli with Madonnas. Venus’s
legs are wrapped in curving drapery, while those of Mars are angular.
Botticelli uses line to create a plastic or three-dimensional quality. It has
often been suggested that the mythological lovers should be associated with
the famous platonic romance between Giuliano de’ Medici and Simonetta
Vespucci, given that vespe means “wasps,” and some can be seen near Mars.