Workshop of Sandro Botticelli
Recently I went to Berlin to see a great exhibition about Sandro Botticelli at the Gemäldegalerie. We all know his Primavera or The Birth of Venus. But not everyone knows that Botticelli himself signed only one painting, The Mystic Nativity. The rest of "his" works has been attributed by art historians. Although Botticelli style is today, perhaps the most recognizable of any early Renaissance painter, we cannot be 100 percent sure which of his works he created on his own and which were created by his workshop. But the myth of the genial artist will remain. In 1855, this tondo was one of the first works attributed to Botticelli. A number of surviving versions attest to the popularity of the composition. In 1864 two art historians, Crowe and Cavalcaselle considered it "not a fine example" and since then most scholars have assigned it to the artist workshop. Although now regarded as the work of a skilled assist, the picture remains popular.
See you tomorrow!
- Zuzanna