Botticelli, an Italian painter of the Florentine School, was born in 1445, and became the student of the famous Italian painter Fra Filippo Lippi.

Although he was one of the most individual painters of the Italian Renaissance, Botticelli remained little known for centuries after his death when in the 19th century his works were rediscovered by the Pre-Raphaelites. He worked chiefly in Florence, and his ecclesiastical commission included work for all the major churches there, leaving only once to participate in the decoration of the Sistine Chapel in Rome (1481-2).

Botticelli was patronized by one of Florence's leading families: the Medici's. The Medici's were a Florentine family whose business of money changing enabled them to grow wealthy and powerful. Their interest in the arts would be a major influence and play a central role in the growth of Florence as the cultural center of Europe.

Lorenzo de' Medici, son of Cosimo the patriarch of the family, was the foremost patron in the family. Some of the worksBotticelli created for Lorenzo de' Medici, who had strong interests in Platonic philosophy, are the "Primavera" and the "Birth of Venus" and possibly "Mars and Venus". It has been suggested that interest in this philosophy was what prompted the new idea of monumental pictures with secular rather then religious content. "Primavera" and "Birth of Venus" were inspired by passages in Angelo Poliziano's Giostra, an allegorical poem written for Giuliano de'Medici.

Both the"Birth of Venus" and the "Primavera" show figures with long, sinuous necks and arms that are characteristic of Botticelli's works. Also evident is the lack of spatial depth, Botticelli seemed to turn his back onmany of the innovations that the Renaissance had achieved: realistic three-dimensional figures and planes, and perspective; objects receding back into space. Like Byzantine and Middle Age paintings, Botticelli's figures seem to float above the ground, their feet aren't planted firmly on the earth.

Botticelli was fully aware of these innovations and quite capable of executing them, he chose not to because he liked the ethereal floating quality that his figures displayed. These qualities give his Venus' an all most angelic appearance, not unlike that seen in the Renaissance works depicting the virgin Mary or figure of Christ. Botticelli, who was devoutly religious, was showing an affinity between the two. This technique of intertwining the mythological and the biblical together was new, for it could not be achieved until the Renaissance. For the first time pagan and Christian themes could be seen together, side by side.

The combining of Christian and pagan or mythological themes in art was not without some controversy. A Dominican monk, Savonarola, would attack the Medici and other Florentine families, as well as the artists they employed. Savonarola criticized their use of Christian and pagan themes and denounce them in the eyes of God. The monk's preaching would convince a number of Florentine citizens to oust the Medici and other powerful families from Florence. Even Botticelli fell under the sway of Savonarola. He would pile countless pieces of his art atop a burning pyre, to be destroyed in Savonarola's infamous "bonfire of the vanities".

The Medici and other families would eventually return to Florence, but Rome would replace that city as the center of Renaissance culture.

Botticelli's style would be replaced by the High Renaissance style founded by Leonardo Da Vinci. Botticelli had no known followers but he was a great influence on the later Mannerists and his fame was resurrected in the second half of the 19th century when the Pre-Raphaelites imitated his wan, elongated females. A still later offshoot of Botticelli's immense popularity can be seen in the short lived Art Nouveau movement, which equated his delicate line with far eastern principles.