Botticelli at the Portland Art Museum

Sandro Botticelli (Italian, 1445–1510), Madonna of the Magnificat, ca. 1483. Tempera, oil, and gold on wood panel. Private collection.

Thanks to this painting being on loan from a private collector, the Portland Art Museum now has this beautiful Botticelli painting on display. This is quite a treasure to see this piece in the Pacific Northwest especially.

10 fun facts about Boticelli:

Born in 1445 in Florence, Italy.

He is most known for The Birth of Venus and Primavera paintings.

Real name: Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi.

Boticelli apprenticed under Fra Filippo Lippi.

At the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy you can see The Birth of Venus and Primavera in one room.

The Birth of Venus was so controversial, at the time, that it was kept hidden for 50 years.

He was in love with Simonetta Catteneo who was his muse and was reportedly the woman who was portrayed in The Birth of Venus.

In 2013, one of his paintings, Madonna and Child With the Young Saint John the Baptist, sold at Christie’s for 10.4 million dollars, which was a record at the time.

The Medici commissioned some works from Boticelli.

He died in 1510 and was not wealthy or revered at the time.

Sources: Sarah Cascone, January 27, 2017, https://news.artnet.com/art-world/renaissance-master-sandro-botticelli-835226

https://lovefromtuscany.com/botticelli-facts/

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Copyright 2023 Tim Bovey.