Was born in 1445. His father Mariano Filipepi was a tanner.
When he was young, Boticelli studied literature but abandoned this to take up painting under the direction of the old maestro Fra Filippo Lippi. The arrival of Boticelli in the circles of artists of Florence coincided with a particular moment of economic and political growth, since Florence was the most advanced cultural place in Europe at that time.
Before the age of 30, he already belonged to the Circle of the Medici, where he was highly considered as a great maestro. In 1475 he painted upon request for Giuliano Medicis. Then he worked for Lorenzo “The Magnificent” and the other Lorenzo (from the second branch of the Medici family) and this allowed him to become a part of the intellectual, neo-platonic circle, whose influence is later seen in his most famous painting “Spring Allegory”. He was then called to Rome, in 1481, to paint the Sistine chapel, together with the most important artists of the time, with the lives of Christ and Moses. A year later he returned to Florence and continued painting ancient mythology and Virgins, which were his favorite themes. Some of his works, especially those of the period between 1482-91, reflect a certain serenity, such as “The Birth of Venus” and other frescoes that he did in the Villa Tornabuoni, “The Virgin of the Magnificat”, “The altarpiece of Saint Bernabe”, “The Coronation of the Virgin” for the convent of San Marcos, the “Virgin with Saints” for the Church of the Holy Spirit, and “The Annunciation” for the monks at Cestello. Nevertheless, the loss he felt with the death of Lorenzo “the Magnificent”, which was made harder by the political events of 1494, undoubtedly influenced the last of these paintings. Corruption characterized this period and Boticelli, an introverted man of great sensitivity, was affected by the downfall of the world that had been his support and especially by the condemnation and death of Savonarola. From that moment on until his death, he lived in his own world, refusing any dishonest image so as to dedicate himself to Sacred History and the symbolic and allegoric representations with a severity that was often qualified as Lutheran. In the Florence of the XVIth century, in which many new artists were already working, such as Leonardo Da Vinci, Rafael and Michelangelo Buonarroti, the talent of the “old” Botticelli seemed a thing of the past. During the last years of his life his artistic activity decreased and the periods in between inspiration were longer. On 17 May 1510, Botticelli died, forgotten and misunderstood. His body was buried in the Church of All Saints.
