Paris, France — He would become one of the greatest Renaissance artists of Florence, in short one of the greatest of the Renaissance. Artist, designer, a life and a studio shrouded in mystery. The Musée Jacquemart-André in Paris is hosting an exhibition devoted to Alessandro Filipepi, known as Botticelli, Sandro Botticelli. The show, entitled Botticelli Artist and Designer, brings together some 40 works by the painter and a few works by his Florentine contemporaries underscoring his radiant influence that would transform the city of Florence in the sacred age of the Medicis. So if you can’t be in Paris right now, The Gourmet Gazette brings this stunning show to you.

He remains one of the most illustrious painters of the Renaissance alternating unique works with productions of works in series with the assistance of his numerous assistants. The show offers a chronological journey into the artist’s career and begins with a selection of his first works influenced by his master Filippo Lippi, the last of the great painters of the first Renaissance (1406-1469). It was with Lippi that Sandro Botticelli would acquire the technique of painting on easel but also the art of fresco painting. His first works depicted the Virgin and Child and his mastery of color and volumes would soon turn his works into stand outs of the studio.

Botticelli would open his first studio in Florence circa 1465, in the midst of a vivacious, effervescent art scene where exchanges and interactions were myriad. A suite in the exhibition is devoted to the works by Botticelli and his studio that were ordered by the patriarchs and notables of Florentine society. All of these works were collaalso made the initial drawing. The Judgement of Paris, is peppered with hunting dogs, for example, giving the historical scene a 15th century contemporary feel.

His personal style and his original personality would naturally attract the Medicis, the wealthy banking family which reached its apogee under the government of the de’Medici Lorenzo the Magnificent (1469-1492). Botticelli’s most celebrated work of this period is possibly his portrait of Julien de’ Medici and the Allegorical Figure also known as The Beautiful Simonetta. But beginning in 1470 would come the works that he is perhaps the most celebrated for, the great mythological scenes like The Birth of Venus, conserved in the Uffizi Museum of Florence. Two of his Venuses are on show in the exhibition, the one conserved in Berlin, Venus Pudica, and his Venus of Torino. The show also underscores the famous round paintings that emanated from Botticelli’s studio, the famous tondi, a circular format that was particularly prized in Florence.

The Musée Jacquemart André is housed in a 19th century mansion and is owned by the French Institute. It is administered by Culture Espace, a private organization specialized in the management of monuments, museums and art centers.
The Botticelli exhibition is on until January 24th, reservation are thoroughly recommended.
©Trish Valicenti for The Gourmet Gazette
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