Botticelli was a Florentine painter whose works in many ways shaped the Renaissance milieu. A century after Botticelli’s time, Renaissance, under the patronage of Lorenzo de' Medici, was tremed by Giorgio Vasari as a "golden age" of art History , a thought, suitably enough, he expressed while recounting the life and works of Botticelli.
He was born in Florence in 1445 and was apprenticed to a goldsmith at a very young age. However seeing that he was not happy there, his parents sent him to the painter Fra Filippo Lippi as an apprentice. He spent all his life in Florence except for a visit to Rome in 1481-82. There he painted wall frescoes in the Sistine Chapel of the Vatican.
Under the influence of Lippi, Botticelli was drawn to the mystical concept of Neoplatonism. The elevation of estheticism and transcendental nature of this philosophy was evident in his works.
Neoplatonism
Neoplatonism was a Pagan philosophy, which celebrated beauty and nature. Neoplatonists believed human perfection and happiness were attainable in this world, through the search of beauty in this world. Perfection and happiness , seen as synonymous,could also be achieved through philosophical contemplation.
Renaissance Paintings
Renaissance or Rebirth was a period of reconnection with classical knowledge with a firm focus on importance of living well in the present. Renaissance paintings are the best representatives of the spirit of the age.
Italian Renaissance has often been heralded as the era of the awakening of the "modern" epoch. Early Renaissance painters like Botticelli contributed to the radical philosophis of this period.
Botticelli’s Works
The most comprehensive way to understand a painter is taking a detour through his paintings. For paintings tells us more than any written word about the painters. This holds true especially for Botticelli because art critics and psychologists proclaim his works as clear reflection of his mind.
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