Sandro Botticelli

Timeline

1. c. 1445–1460Florence · Republic of FlorenceAlessandro di Mariano Filipepi was born around 1445 near the church of Ognissanti in Florence; his father Mariano was a leather dresser. The nickname "Botticelli" came from his elder brother Giovanni, called "the little barrel" for his stout build, and later became the family's hereditary surname. In the 1450s Sandro lived with his family in the city of Florence, received a basic education, and began to encounter the city's flourishing artistic environment. This was the golden age of Medici cultural patronage, with many first-rate painters gathered in the city, laying the groundwork for his later career.
2. c. 1462–1467Florence · FlorenceAround 1462 Sandro entered the workshop of the Camaldolese monk and renowned painter Filippo Lippi, systematically mastering tempera technique, the depiction of the Madonna and Child, and the use of soft lines and bright colors—traits that deeply shaped his later personal style. Lippi's workshop was then undertaking commissions for several important Florentine churches, allowing Sandro to hone his craft in a real working environment.
3. c. 1470–1492Florence · FlorenceFrom the 1470s Botticelli established an independent workshop and quickly rose among the most admired painters in Florence, winning the favor of the Medici family. Under the intellectual influence of the Neoplatonic scholars Marsilio Ficino and Angelo Poliziano, he painted Primavera (c. 1477–1482) and The Birth of Venus (c. 1484–1486), fusing classical myth with humanist philosophy into a milestone of Renaissance iconography. In 1481–1482 he traveled to the Vatican to work on the Sistine Chapel frescoes.