Adoration of The Magi

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Adoration of The Magi: Sandro Botticelli

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Sandro Botticelli Various Paintings - Adoration of The Magi

Keywords: Adoration, Magi

Work Overview: Adoration of the Magi
Artist Sandro Botticelli
Year c. 1475–1476
Medium Tempera on panel
Dimensions 111 cm × 134 cm (44 in × 53 in)
Location Uffizi, Florence

The Adoration of the Magi is a painting by the Italian Renaissance master Sandro Botticelli, dating from 1475 or 1476, early in his career. The work is on display at the Uffizi in Florence. Botticelli was commissioned to paint at least seven versions of The Adoration of the Magi.

In the scene numerous characters are present, among which are several members of the Medici family: Cosimo de' Medici (the Magus kneeling in front of the Virgin, described by Vasari as "the finest of all that are now extant for its life and vigour"), his sons Piero (the second Magus kneeling in the centre with the red mantle) and Giovanni (the third Magus), and his grandsons Giuliano and Lorenzo. The three Medici portrayed as Magi were all dead at the time the picture was painted, and Florence was effectively ruled by Lorenzo.

Whether Botticelli's intimate relations with the Medici brothers allowed the wealthy Gaspare to introduce the portraits of their kinsmen in his altar-piece, or Gaspare was glad for this opportunity to pay a graceful compliment to these powerful personages is hard to tell. It is, however, apparent from the great pains in which Botticelli bestowed on these figures, that this formed an important part of the task.

Also Gaspare himself is said to be included in the painting, as the old man on the right with white hair and an alight blue robe looking and pointing at the observer. Furthermore, also Botticelli is alleged to have made a self-portrait as the blonde man with yellow mantle on the far right.

Sandro Botticelli painted the Adoration of the Magi around 1475: at the time he was a young artist, protected by the Medici family. The work - a tempera on wood - was located in the church of Santa Maria Novella, in particular in the chapel of the del Lama family.

Who commissioned the work? The banker Gaspare di Zanobi del Lama, who made built the chapel in Santa Maria Novella to atone for his sins. At the time, bankers\' work was considered similar to the sin of usury.

The Medici family, which protected both the banker that the painter, is represented in the work. The three Magi - representing the stages of life - are Cosimo the Elder and his sons Pietro and Giovanni. We also see the sons of Piero, Lorenzo the Magnificent and Giuliano. There are also other characters, very important for the Medicean Florence: Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, Agnolo Poliziano and Botticelli himself, in a self-portrait, in the group of people on the right.

The Uffizi artwork shows some stylistic characteristics of the mature Botticelli: in fact, he prove here that he has reached the loose and vigorous tract that characterizes his style. Even the characters, with their melancholy yet proud air, give a fairy-tale tone of meditation that we find in the best-known works.

Botticelli also introduces some innovation in the composition, of which they will make treasure - among others - Leonardo da Vinci and Filippino Lippi. They produced other paintings on the theme of the Adoration of the Magi, now preserved at the Uffizi Gallery.

Which innovations? The Adoration of the Magi was already a popular theme among Italian painters. Botticelli introduced the frontal view of the represented scene. At the center there are the holy figures, which here are in a higher position than the others. On either side there are the other characters, arranged symmetrically.

This is a less well known painting of the Spring and the Birth of Venus, but an important masterpiece in the career of Botticelli and in Italian art history.

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The Adoration of the Magi motif was unusual for Florentine altar scenes until the 15th century. One of the first presentations of the Adoration of the magi is found on the Strozzi altar of Gentile da Fabiano, dating in 1423. But the 15th century was its golden age, probably due to many brotherhoods in Florence.

One of the most important congregations was so-called Brotherhood of the Magi, (Compania dei Magi, also called Confraternity of the Star). Their selected members also included the Medici family. Compagnia dei Magi organized magnificent processions in Florence, from the monastery of St Marco to the Baptistery, which were performed every five years on Epiphany, the feast day of the Magi. Lorenzo il Magnifico, the grand son of Cosimo il Vecchio was even baptized on January the 6th, the feast day of the Magi.
Members of the important families in Florence were often portrayed as magi or as their companions on the paintings with the motif of the Adoration of the Magi. There are several representations of this motif which depicted portraits of Medici. They were made by the most known Italian renaissance artists such as Gozzoli, Botticelli, Veneziano, Lippi, Ghirlandaio…

At the height of his fame, the Florentine painter and draughtsman Sandro Botticelli was one of the most esteemed artists in Italy.
Sandro Botticelli, (1445-1510) was the son of Mariano di Vanni Filipepi, Alessandro — whose nickname derives from that of his brother Giovanni, called "Botticello" (little barrel).

Botticelli entered Filippo Lippi's workshop toward the end of the 1450s. The mark of Lippi's style is clearly recognizable in Sandro's earliest paintings, works such as the Madonna and Child in the Ospedale degli Innocenti in Florence and the Madonna and Child with an Angel in the Musée Fesch in Ajaccio.
In 1472, Botticelli joined the Compagnia di San Luca, the confraternity of Florentine painters. He also employed Filippino Lippi, his late teacher's son, as his apprentice, and broke convention by completing Filippino's version of The Adoration of the Kings — it was far more usual for an apprentice to finish a painting by his master rather than the other way round.[2]

Botticelli's apprenticeship with Fra Filippo gave him excellent contacts. His master had enjoyed the patronage of some of the leading families in Florence, such as the Medici. Botticelli in turn spent almost all his life working for the Medici family and their circle of friends, for whom he painted some of his most ambitious secular paintings such as Primavera (in the Uffizi, Florence).

In the Uffizi there is another painting by Sandro Botticelli which is both a portrait of the Medici family and a self-portrait of the artist. It is the celebrated Adoration of tlre Magi , painted around the year 1475 for the chapel patronized by the Lama (or Lami) family in Santa Maria Novella. It is the picture that, according to Vasari, made the young Sandro famous in Florence and Italy and opened the way to Rome.
The painting is based on a subtle web of symbolic references. The Lami Chapel was dedicated to the Epiphany because the client's name, Gaspare, was the same as the one traditionally attributed to one of the three Magi. This explains the choice of the iconographic subject.
But the journey of the Magi to the stabIe in Bethlehem had already become part of Medici mythography. Less than twenty years earlier (1459) Benozzo Gozzoli had painted a fresco in the private chapel of the family palace, the celebrated ceremonial and formal cavalcade known as the Journey of the Magi in which we can recognize, alongside eminent figures of the Italian aristocracy (Pandolfo Malatesta, Galeazzo Maria Sforza) and the most prominent notables of the city oligarchy, several members of the Medici house: Cosimo the head of the family, his son and heir Piero, probably his illegitimate son Giovanni and the children Lorenzo and Giuliano. [4]

In the painting formerly in Santa Maria Novella the appropriation of the myth by the Medici has become total, in the sense that the Medici have become the Magi. In fact we can identify, with certainty, the aged Cosimo kneeling in an act of devotion at the feet of the Virgin, bis eldest son Piero in a red cloak seen from behind at the centre of the composition, and on his right the other son Giovanni, dressed in white and also on his knees.
The identity of the other figures is more controversial. Some have seen the young man leaning on bis sword on the far left as a portrait of Lorenzo the Magnificent (although others hold him to be Giuliano), with Politian and Pico della Mirandola standing next to him, while Giuliano (or Lorenzo?) is thought to be the dark youth with black clothes and hair in the group on the right, immediately behind Giovanni. For others, Lorenzo is the young man in a purplish cloak and a gold-embroidered cap of vaguely goliardic style standing behind the kneeling Cosimo. The recognition of the features of historical figures and their consequent identification on the basis of very few reliable points of reference and in a context as highly stylized and idealized as this one is a task that canonly lead to questionable conclusions. Thus it is impossible to arrive at an indisputable identification of the minor members of the Medici family.

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The scene of the Magi coming to worship Christ at the Nativity is a common theme in Renaissance art. The Renaissance artist Botticelli painted a famous version of this theme in 1475, called 'The Adoration of the Magi,' which we'll learn about in this lesson.

Sandro Botticelli was an innovative Renaissance artist from Florence, Italy, who painted several famous works with religious and mythical themes. One of his famous religious works painted in 1475, is The Adoration of the Magi, which depicts the biblical story of the three Wise Men and others coming to worship Christ at the Nativity.

Botticelli actually painted a few depictions of Magi adoring Christ, but this 1475 painting is his most famous version. The Adoration of the Magi is so intriguing because it reveals important information about the religious nature of the topic, Florentine society, and Botticelli himself.

Because it depicts one of the most important scenes from the Bible, The Adoration of the Magi has a religious meaning. The Holy Family - consisting of Christ, Mary, and Joseph - are the central focus, and they are placed above all the other figures in the scene. The star that led the Magi to Bethlehem can be seen at the top of the painting, shining directly on Christ.

The three Magi (the kneeling man in black to the left of Christ, the kneeling man in red directly below Mary, and the kneeling man in white/gold next to him) and their attendants (the other figures in the scene) have brought their gifts to offer to the Holy Family. This suggests that the Holy Family (and specifically Christ) deserves our worship and reverence.

Though the painting highlights the sacredness of the scene, there is a humble realism about it as well. For example, the scene is set in old ruins. And even though Christ, Mary, and Joseph are holy, they appear like regular humans. It looks like Joseph could even be falling asleep! It's easy to imagine that Joseph was likely pretty weary after the ordeal of traveling to Bethlehem and having a newborn. Therefore, Botticelli paints the Holy Family as divine and yet accessible, holy and yet human.

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The Adoration of the Magi is Sandro Botticelli’s depiction of a famous scene, where the three Magi, or kings, bring gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh to lay before a baby Jesus. This was a popular theme among Renaissance painters, and Botticelli’s version dates back to around 1475.

History
This painting by Botticelli was commissioned by an Italian banker, Gaspare di Zanobi del Lama. He wanted the painting for a chapel located in Florence. The chapel where the Adoration of the Magi once rested is now destroyed, and the painting is now in the Uffizi, a famous art museum in Florence.

Analysis
In Botticelli’s depiction of the Adoration of the Magi, there are a number of individuals surrounding the makeshift structure where Christ rests. The crumbling edifice surrounding Christ indicates Jesus’ humble roots, and creates a poignant contrast when placed next to the rich robes worn by those surrounding the makeshift altar.

The figures surrounding Christ are thought to be based on people in the Medici family, as di Zanobi del Lama was affiliated with the House of Medici. Cosimo de’Medici and his sons Piero and Giovanni are found in the painting, along with Cosimo’s grandsons Lorenzo and Giuliano. The Medici are thus depicted as the Magi.

All of the figures in the scene have different poses, expressions, and characters, making the painting a very diverse array of colors and imagery. It is also thought that Botticelli worked a self-portrait into the scene; he is presumed to be the blonde-haired man to the far right. The painting is well-known for its meticulous attention to detail. It is thought to have been influenced by the Flemish school, which Botticelli had been studying at the time of his career when he painted it. The Adoration of the Magi was a distinguishing moment in Botticelli’s career.

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Somewhere around 1475, Botticelli painted the famous Adoration of the Magi for Guasparre di Zanobi del Lama, a work in which the artist also depicted himself. This painting established Botticelli's fame in Florence, and may rightfully be considered the high point of his early artistic output.

Guasparre del Lama was a parvenu from the humblest background with a dubious past - he had been convicted of the embezzlement of public funds in 1447. He had been working since the 1450s as a broker and money-changer, something which brought him considerable wealth. In order that he might also obtain the high social standing which he lacked, he enrolled in the most prestigious brotherhoods and endowed a chapel in Santa Maria Novella, which he decorated with Botticelli's altar-piece. Del Lama's career did not last long, for he soon slipped back into his dishonest business practices.

Del Lama may be seen among the crowd of people on the right-hand side of the picture, an elderly man with white hair and a light blue robe looking at the observer and pointing in the latter's direction with his right hand. The most famous members of the Medici family are portrayed together with del Lama; controversy rages as to their precise identification, although there is no doubt that the eldest king, kneeling before the Virgin and the Christ Child, is a representation of Cosimo the Elder, founder in the 1430s of what would be dynastic rule by the Medici family over Florence for many years to come. Other members: Cosimo's son Piero, called the Gouty, as the kneeling king with red mantle in the centre, Lorenzo the Magnificent as the young man at his right, in profile, with a black and red mantle.

A comparison of Botticelli's painting with his earlier representations of the Adoration (both in the National Gallery, London)) reveals the extent to which the artist had further developed and compensated for his earlier weaknesses. The ground rises gently, so that the faces of almost everyone present can be seen, as can the great variety of postures and gestures that these figures embody. However, Botticelli has combined those involved in an ever more compelling fashion to create a dramatic unity, one concentrated wholly upon the main event. Furthermore, he has moved the central king slightly away from the main axis, enabling the observer's gaze to fall unimpeded upon the Virgin, who is now no longer in danger of becoming lost in the throng, as was still the case in the London portrayal.

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