Sandro Botticelli: My Favourite Renaissance Painter

















 Partly as a fun exercise and partly out of curiosity, I had recently asked 10 of my close friends and relatives as to who their favourite Renaissance painters were. Invariably the trio of Leonard da Vinci, Michelangelo  and Raphael were the only names that were mentioned. No doubt all three were / are the GREATEST of the Renaissance painters; but my personal favourite has always been Sandro Botticelli.

Many , many years ago, in what now seems to be the ancient times of my life, when I was a mere child of 3-4  years, I used to frequently visit my Maternal Uncles’ house in Bhowanipore, Calcutta, where I was pampered to no end. On a wall opposite where the dining table came much later ( and often doubled as my ping-pong table ) there was this large glass-framed portrait of my maternal grand-mother.  Just below it, strangely, was this old calendar shorn of all its date pages, but still hanging on for years together, showing the painting of a BEAUTIFUL woman in the nude emerging out of a Pearl Shell. I can still recollect the overwhelming pristine beauty of the woman exuding purity all around her. 

Many, many years later, in August 1981, I had my first and so far my only, opportunity to visit the Uffizi Galleries in Florence, Italy. While filling my eyes and my heart with overflowing, endless joy as I went from one treasure of art to another, I came across the real painting of the pristine woman emerging out of a pearl shell. In a flash, my memories went back 30 years, as I realized that THIS WAS the actual painting of the printed picture depicted on that old dateless calendar.

“The Birth of Venus” had impacted me so profoundly ( and perhaps it was always with me subconsciously)  that my recognition came instantaneously even as old memories and nostalgia flooded my mind. Ever since Sandro Botticelli has remained my FAVOURITE and whenever I visit any museum housing Renaissance works I make conscious efforts to locate and see Botticelli’s paintings.

I have posted below some of the paintings of Botticelli I have photographed during my visits to various Art Museums. Some works I have just seen but not photographed, for example, in the National Gallery, London where photography is prohibited. I saw Botticelli’s painting “Venus and Mars” there. Unfortunately, I have so far not had a second opportunity to go back to the Uffizi. So the photo of the “Birth of Venus” is a digitally scanned reproduction of the painting photographed by me way back in August 1981. A lot of discolouration has taken place and the quality of my reproduced effort is at best of a poor quality. Still!



In any way, even if I go back to the Uffizi  again and I know I will soon, I will not get another opportunity to photograph this painting of my dreams once more  as Uffizi  also has prohibited photography inside the Galleries.





I hope my FB friends will also enjoy the works of Sandro Botticelli as much as I have done for the past 65 years








 

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