Engraving The Virgin, the child Jesus and Saint John - Botticelli

Sandro Botticelli is a major artistic figure of the Florentine quatrocento. His singular pictorial output, combining humanism and piety as a key player in the early Italian Renaissance. Born from a working-class background, he owed the impetus of his career to his patrons, influential families. Botticelli...

Sandro Botticelli is a major artistic figure of the Florentine quatrocento. His singular pictorial output, combining humanism and piety as a key player in the early Italian Renaissance. Born from a working-class background, he owed the impetus of his career to his patrons, influential families. Botticelli is renowned for the subtle narrative the narrative dimension of his works, a skill acquired during his master Filippo Lippi's workshop. The Virgin and Child Jesus with the young St. John the Baptist is an early work. Botticelli paints the Virgin clasping her child, while a young St. John the Baptist admonishes the viewer viewer observing this scene of affection. The emblematic physique of Botticelli's women is inspired by an acquaintance of the artist's, Simonnetta Vespucci, admired for her beauty. This work testifies to Botticelli's Botticelli's late Gothic style, with its sinuous forms and complex composition. Finally, an Arcadian landscape trio, echoing the promise of a new golden age.