Alessandro di Mariano Filipepi, better known as Sandro Botticelli (born in 1445 and died in May 1510) was one of the most acclaimed painters of the Florentine Renaissance. He is best known for his works of art, The Birth of Venus and Primavera which are often said to epitomize the spirit of the Renaissance. Being the great artist that he was, he was also summoned to take part in the decoration of the Sistine Chapel in Rome and was supported by the leading families of Florence, including the Medici.
Despite the reputation he built throughout his career, by the time of his death, his reputation was on the decline. At the time, his works were overshadowed by the new styles of Perugino and Francesco Francia, and even more so by the High Renaissance paintings of Michelangelo and Raphael. Around this time, Botticelli's name had disappeared, until his works were reassessed once again in the 1890s.
The Birth of Venus, 1485
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