The Florentine Sandro Botticelli painted some of the most beautiful and beloved artworks of the Italian Renaissance. His subjects ranged from the mythological, with famous examples including “The Birth of Venus” and “Primavera,” to magnificent religious paintings of the Madonna and Child, as well as portraits of powerful people, including members of the Medici family.
In art history, it has long been purported that he used noblewoman Simonetta Vespucci as a model throughout his oeuvre. An in-depth exploration of this legend reveals truths versus fictions, the culture and politics of 15th-century Florence, and Botticelli’s glorious artistry.
