Most of the western world is familiar with the image of Venus as it rises from the sea in a clamshell in the famous Italian Renaissance painting by Sandro Botticelli. With its lyrical, graceful beauty, the work that we know so well is appropriately named The Birth of Venus, and sometimes affectionately known in contemporary culture as " Venus on the Half Shell ". Botticelli & 39; s mythological work continues to inspire contemporary art, literature, cinema, and a myriad of other things. & 39; S Botticelli Venus and her sister painting, spring, were commissioned by Lorenzo de Medici & 39; his villa in Castello, in 1485. More likely is that although the paintings were commissioned by Lorenzo for his teenaged children, Piero and Giovanni.
After the death of his father, Lorenzo de Medici & 39; now twenty years, with his brother Giuliano took power in Florence in 1469. Giuliano died in 1478, but Lorenzo has become known to posterity as & 39; Il Magnifico " or " The Magnificent " during the twenty-three years in which he ruled Florence. Lorenzo & 39; s sponsorship of Botticelli continued where his father left off. Despite Lorenzo & 39; s magnanimous patronage, however, Botticelli & 39; s shining star was soon to fade. As the High Renaissance was announced at the beginning of the sixteenth century, Botticelli had already fallen into disfavor, sometimes poorly surviving on the brink of starvation. With great success at the height of his career, Botticelli& 39;s life ended with more of a whimper than a bang, who died in a very tragic way in relative obscurity. How is the high fall so low? Botticelli fell under the spell of a Dominican monk, a fanatical, religious reformer Girolamo Savonarola called, and one of the main targets of Savonarola & 39; s sermons Lorenzo the Magnificent was himself. & 39; Lorenzo de Medici was the de facto governor of the Florentine Republic, but was officially ruled by the Signoria, a board composed of members qualified guild. Lorenzo was a consummate diplomat and politician who is surrounded with men of excellence in learning, poets, humanist scholars, and artists such as Michelangelo and Botticelli. The life of Lorenzo the Magnificent with its elite meetings he made a big target for Savonarola. Early Medieval and Renaissance authorities in Europe had passed a series of laws designed to curb the ostentatious display of aristocracy. No where was this more evident than in Italy with his wealthy merchant class. Medicean money and thus resulted patronage of the family banking, and Lorenzo, like his predecessors, used his money to enjoy life. Lorenzo was generous, lavishing money and gifts in both friends and the clergy. He was a man equally at ease writing a hymns and poetry. From his artists, he ordered two altarpieces and pagan-inspired nudes. It was a time of turmoil, both political and religious, so since Lorenzo elaborate entertainment for the masses. It has been suggested that these activities may have been intended to divert attention from Lorenzo& 39;s own extravagant lifestyle. Pageants and festivals were a favorite Florentine custom, and Lorenzo wrote poems to be sung during the festivities extolling the pursuit of pleasure and encouraging female promiscuity. One vocal performance penned by Lorenzo was delivered to the people in front of the cathedral during their pageant " The Triumph of Bacchus ". Florence prospered economically under Lorenzo of the State and its political machinations provided a peaceful interlude of war during his reign, for the majority of Italian city-states. Apparently, Lorenzo was a benevolent tyrant, but there was still the question of Savonarola to deal with them a thorn in their side, no doubt, but actually one that hindered their way of life very little. Savonarola developed a whole sequence of Florence preaching fire and brimstone against the immorality of the people, the general corruption of the Catholic Church and wealthy aristocrats, Lorenzo de Medici & 39; in particular. His sermons played to packed audiences from the pulpit of San Marco in itself, a Medici-sponsored by the church. Botticelli was summoned to Rome in 1481 to work in three Sistine Chapel frescoes for Pope Sixtus IV. When Botticelli returned to Florence in 1485, he attended the sermons of Savonarola. Michelangelo read them also through the new invention of mass publication with the press. Savonarola had a profound effect on the two artists as evidenced in the religious content of their works of art. Botticelli turned his mind back to religious themes, but its sponsorship Medicean dried up with the death of Lorenzo the Magnificent in 1492. Surprisingly, it was Savonarola, who sought Lorenzo acquittal of their sins in their final hours. Two years after the death of Lorenzo, the Medici family was expelled from Florence. The Medici palace was fired and countless articles and valuable works of art were stolen. Savonarola was called to Rome in 1495 by Pope to defend their religious preaching, unwisely, but he declined the invitation of the Pope. There were difficult times for Botticelli, at the moment, but caught in its religious fervor, he followed the lead of Savonarola, who organized what became known to history as " The Bonfire of the Vanities ". Before the festival in the Lenten season in 1497, Savonarola ordered his followers to meet " vanity " going from house to house.
These vanity Savonarola objects were considered immoral, such as costumes, masks, wigs, love songs , festival paraphernalia, musical instruments, cosmetics, and many other things. On the last day of carnival, he ordered the " " falsehood to be stacked on top of a large pile of incendiary material and set afire. Atiradas the bonfire were also precious manuscripts and works of art. Botticelli will participated in the bonfire, consignor many of their own tables to the flames. A year later, in 1498, Savonarola suffered a fate similar to vanity as he proudly immolated. He was officially excommunicated, imprisoned, tortured, hanged and then burned at the stake for heresy, having offended the Florentines and the pope one too many times. Devastada the loss of their spiritual leader, Botticelli stopped painting after 1500 and lived in poverty until his death in 1510. Botticelli was sustained in the last year by the charity of the Medici, who were then again in Florence hopes to resume the reins of power, which happened in 1512. Botticelli end of the work of 1500 is the Nativity, now in the National Gallery in London. Much to the delight of the world of art, an interest in the life and work of Sandro Botticelli was resurrected in the 19 th century by the Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood. This was a group of British Victorian painters who rejected the High Renaissance, the return to a hard-edged style evidenced in the Early Renaissance works of artists such as Botticelli. If not for their efforts, the works of Botticelli might have always remained obscure. Because of them, and their Botticelli Venus once again rose from beneath the waves to the prominent place that so richly deserves in the world of art. Brenda Harness is an art historian and former university professor writing on a variety of topics related to art and art history.
She owns Touch Fine Art, a site dedicated to the exploration of Italian Renaissance art. See your new electronic book available soon, " Talking About Art ". Read articles in its Fine Art Touch.
