About Sandro Botticelli

Name variants

Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi, Allesandro (Sandro Botticelli) Filipepi
  • Biography

    Sandro Botticelli was the youngest son of Mariano Filipepi; he was born in Florence, Italy in 1445. His name was really Allessandro de Mariano Filipepi. Botticelli was really just a nickname, meaning "little barrel" and was originally bestowed on his older brother. For some reason the name was passed on and adopted by the younger painter brother.

    He was apprenticed to a goldsmith in his youth but left that art and studied painting, choosing Fra Filippo Lippi as his first master. The galleries of the Uffizi in Florence and the Louvre in Paris both possess circular Madonnas with Angels painted by him soon after the death of Lippi in 1469. Botticelli also practiced engraving to a limited extent.

    Between the years 1481 and 1484 B...

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