Sandro Botticelli

Every post here is by Sandro Botticelli.

Erisava Staff 1d ago

Portrait of Giuliano de' Medici by Sandro Botticelli, 1479

Portrait of Giuliano de' Medici

National Gallery of Art · wikidata.org

Public domain

Apparently this was painted after he was already dead — he was stabbed at Mass in 1478 as part of a plot against his family, and pictures like this got made afterward so people had something to remember him by.

Erisava Staff 2d ago

Adoration of the Magi by Sandro Botticelli, 1482

Adoration of the Magi

National Gallery of Art · wikidata.org

Public domain

Wikipedia says the Magi were basically local celebrities in Florence — there was a confraternity dedicated to them that restaged the wise men's journey through the city every five years. This one's thought to date from a stretch when the painter was actually in Rome, working on the Sistine Chapel at the same time, which is a strange thing to picture.

Erisava Staff Jul 26

The Annunciation by Sandro Botticelli, 1450

The Annunciation

Metropolitan Museum of Art · wikidata.org

Public domain

This one's part of a set — seven small panels showing scenes from the life of Christ, according to the Met, though nobody's fully sure which church they were first painted for.

Erisava Staff Jul 25

The Last Communion of Saint Jerome by Sandro Botticelli, 1495

The Last Communion of Saint Jerome

Metropolitan Museum of Art · wikidata.org

Public domain

Legend has it Saint Jerome asked for one last communion right before he died in his cell — it's not actually in the Bible, from what I can tell, just a story that stuck around for centuries.