,illustration3 ,cover art               
,,masterpieces ,,in ,,colour  ,,edited  
,,by ,t4 ,,leman ,,hare                 
,,botticelli       ,,plate ,i4--,,the   
,,birth ,,of ,,venus4  ,from the tempera
 on canvas in the ,uffizi4              
7,frontispiece7  ,this picture is       
generally regarded as the supreme       
achievement of ,botticelli's genius4    
,it was probably painted about #adhe1   
after his return from ,rome4  ,the      
canvas measures #e ft #h in4 by #i ft #a
 in41 so that the figures are nearly    
life size4  ,no reproduction can do     
justice to the exquisite delicacy of    
expression in the original4  ,something 
of the same quality will be found in the
 ,mars and ,venus in the ,national      
,gallery1 which was probably painted    
about the same time4  ,the two figures  
on the left are usually described as    
,zephyrus and ,zephyritis1 representing 
the south and south-west winds3 that on 
the right may be one of the ,hours of   
,homer's ,hymn1 or possibly the ,spring4

  ,illustration3 ,,plate ,i4--,,the     
,,birth ,,of ,,venus4       ,,botticelli
    ,,by ,,henry ,,bryan ,,binns        
,,illustrated ,,with ,,eight            
,,reproductions ,,in ,,colour           
,illustration3 title page logo          
,,london3 ,t4 ,c4  ,e4 ,c4 ,,jack  ,,new
 ,,york3 ,,frederick ,a4 ,,stokes ,,co4 
#aijg     ,the plates are printed by    
,,bemrose ,,dalziel1 ,,ltd41 ,watford   
,the text at the ,,ballantyne ,,press1  
,edinburgh     ,,list ,,of              
,,illustrations   ,plate      ,i4 ,the  
,birth of ,venus 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4
 ,frontispiece            ,from the     
tempera on canvas in the ,uffizi        
,,ii4 ,spring            ,from the      
tempera on wood in the ,florence        
,academy     ,,iii4 ,portrait of a ,man 
,from the panel in the ,florence        
,academy      ,,iv4 ,the ,madonna of the
 ,magnificat1 known also as the         
,coronation          of the ,virgin     
,from the tondo in the ,uffizi       ,v4
 ,the ,madonna of the ,pomegranate      

,from the tondo in the ,uffizi          
,,vi4 ,the ,annunciation                
,from the panel in the ,uffizi          
,,vii4 ,the ,virgin and ,child with ,st4
 ,john and an ,angel            ,from   
the panel in the ,national ,gallery     
,,viii4 ,the ,virgin and ,child by an   
,open ,window            ,from the panel
 in the ,national ,gallery              
,illustration3 ,botticelli   ,from      
,florence1 in the second half of the    
fifteenth century1 men looked into a new
 dawn4  ,when the ,turk took            
,constantinople in #addc1 the glory that
 was ,greece was carried to her by      
fleeing scholars1 and she became for one
 brilliant generation the home of that  
,platonic worship of beauty and         
philosophy which had been so long an    
exile from the hearts of men4  ,i say   
,platonic1 because it was especially to 
,plato1 the mystic1 that she turned1    
possessed still by something of the     
mystical intensity of her own great     
poet1 himself an exile4  ,when1 in      

#addd1 ,pope ,eugenius left her to      
return to ,rome1 ,florence was ready to 
welcome this new wanderer1 the spirit of
 the ancient world4  ,and the almost    
childish wonder with which she received 
that august guest is evident in all the 
marvellous work of the years that       
followed1 in none more than in that of  
,sandro ,botticelli4    ,,plate         
,,ii4--,,spring4  7,from the tempera on 
wood in the ,florence ,academy7  ,the   
date of this painting is much debated4  
,it may probably be about #adgh1 before 
the ,roman visit4  ,it is somewhat      
larger than the ,venus1 but the figures 
are of similar size4  ,reading from the 
left they are usually described as      
,mercury1 the ,three ,graces1 ,venus1   
,primavera the ,spring-maiden1 ,flora1  
and ,zephyrus4  ,the robed ,venus is in 
striking contrast with that of the later
 picture4  ,illustration3 ,,plate       
,,ii4--,,spring4    ,he indeed was born 
in the very year of that new advent1    
lived through the period of its sunshine

 into one of storms--,stygian darkness  
and frightful flashes of light--and went
 down at last1 an old broken man1       
staggering between two crutches1 to his 
grave4  ,his times were those of        
,lorenzo the ,magnificent1 who was a few
 years his junior1 the unacknowledged   
despot of the ,tuscan ,republic1 a      
prince1 cold and hard as steel1 worthy  
to be an example for young              
,macchiavelli1 yet none the less a poet1
 and a devoted lover both of philosophy 
and of all beautiful things4  ,it was an
 age when a new synthesis was being     
made1 and old enemies reconciled1 so    
that men were less ready then to blame  
than to admire1 and the best feeling of 
the time was that of reverent wonder4   
,it is this which1 more than any other  
painter1 ,botticelli has expressed for  
us4  ,his pictures are living witnesses 
to the reverence which1 in his day1 the 
mystery of human life evoked in spirits 
such as his4  ,but while this is true1  
and true in the first degree of ,sandro 

and his work1 they express besides other
 moods1 and betray other influences4    
,the later quatrocento was the time not 
only of ,lorenzo and the ,platonists1   
but of ,savonarola also1 the last great 
figure of the ,middle ,ages1 strangely  
proclaiming the new days2 and with him1 
of foreign incursions into ,italy and   
,florence1 of violence and all the      
black-brood of religious and civil      
strife4  ,and at the end of those days  
came ,michael ,angelo1 whose sombre     
masculine genius stands in such striking
 contrast to all the subtle grace and   
wistful gladness of ,botticelli4  ,but  
,botticelli1 who was of the circle of   
the neo-,platonists1 was also among     
those who loved the friar of ,ferrara2  
if he was the friend of ,leonardo da    
,vinci he was associated also with      
,michael ,angelo4  ,in his life1 and in 
the work which is the expression of that
 life1 we can read plainly the          
perplexity and the discords1 as well as 
the new and arresting harmonies of that 

time4  ,his wonder is not all a glad    
reverence2 it is sometimes1 and         
increasingly1 a poignant questioning of 
the sibyls4     ,i  ,the life of the    
painter appears to have been uneventful1
 and all that is known of him can be    
told in little space4  ,his father was a
 ,florentine tanner1 and his elder      
brother followed the same trade1 and was
 nicknamed ,botticello1 little barrel4  
,the family patronymic was dei          
,filipepi1 but the painter signed       
himself ,sandro di ,mariano1 the latter 
being his father's name4  ,sandro       
7,alexander7 was1 perhaps1 the son of a 
second marriage1 for he was young enough
 to have been the child of his brother  
,giovanni1 the tanner1 whose nickname   
became affixed to him4  ,he was probably
 born in #addd1 in a house close to ,all
 ,saints 7,ognissanti7 ,cemetery in the 
present ,via della ,porcellana4  ,his   
father was now in middle life1 and a    
prosperous man4  ,the lad was delicate1 
quick and wilful1 perhaps a spoilt      

child4  ,he was older than usual when he
 went at about fifteen into a           
goldsmith's shop1 doubtless that of     
,antonio his second brother4  ,but he   
was not long contented there4  ,a year  
or two later he was studying painting   
under that famous friar1 ,fra ,lippo    
,lippi4  ,unless ,browning has          
misunderstood the ,carmelite brother1   
the worship of beauty was his real      
religion2 and1 mere child of nature as  
he was1 he sought to tell the           
significance which he found in her      
face--not indeed by the mere            
illustration of theological doctrine and
 pietistic conception1 but by the       
transcription in pure line and perfect  
colour of a language that had for him no
 other words4  ,the friar was living in 
the neighbouring city of ,prato1        
painting frescoes in the ,cathedral1    
when ,sandro joined him and became his  
favourite pupil4  ,how long he remained 
with his master is uncertain1 but it is 
probable that the fruitful relationship 

continued until after he came of age4   
,perhaps he was twenty-four when he     
returned to ,florence1 and became       
associated with the brothers            
,pollajuolo1 for whom1 in #adgj1 he     
executed the first commission of which  
we have record4  ,but as he was now     
twenty-six1 this cannot be his earliest 
work4  ,there is a hillside shrine near 
,settignano1 which contains a           
,madonna--,madonna della                
,vannella--formerly ascribed to the     
friar1 but which is now believed to be  
one of the earliest efforts of his      
pupil4  ,and in the ,national ,gallery  
the long panel of the ,adoration        
officially ascribed to ,filippino ,lippi
 has by general consent been transferred
 to ,sandro1 and assigned to the period 
before his association with the         
,pollajuoli4  ,here it should be said   
that none of ,botticelli's paintings is 
clearly signed and dated2 and even      
indirect documentary proofs are wanting 
in the case of the majority of his      

works4  ,much has therefore to be       
decided by the doubtful and highly      
technical tests of internal evidence4   
,these are rendered more difficult by   
the receptivity of this artist1 who came
 late to maturity and was throughout his
 life profoundly affected by external   
influence2 but on the other hand1 his   
work has certain mannerisms as well as  
excellences special to it1 which even   
his imitators and students failed to    
reproduce4  ,the brothers ,piero and    
,antonio ,pollajuolo exercised a        
profound influence over the young       
artist4  ,filippo had taught him to     
paint emotion--the ,pollajuoli were     
masters in another school1 and sought to
 delineate physical force4  ,there is a 
little panel by ,antonio in the ,uffizi1
 of ,hercules and the ,hydra1 in which  
every line is almost incredibly tense   
with the expression of energy--the      
fierce muscular swing and clutch of     
struggle4  ,to some extent ,sandro was  
already a man standing upon his own     

feet2 and the scientific studies of     
anatomy and perspective in which he was 
now encouraged1 increased his power of  
expression without distracting it from  
its proper purpose4  ,in #adfi ,fra     
,filippo died1 and three years later his
 son ,filippino1 then fourteen years    
old1 became ,sandro's pupil4  ,from this
 it would appear that by #adgb1 when he 
was twenty-eight years of age1          
,botticelli had left the ,pollajuoli1   
and had a workshop1 or bottega1 of his  
own1 in the family house where the      
income-tax returns of #adhj describe him
 as still working4  ,here in #adgc      
,lorenzo the ,magnificent1 who four     
years earlier had become master of      
,florence1 commissioned him to paint a  
,st4 ,sebastian2 and from this time     
forward the ,medici gave him frequent   
proofs of their appreciation4  ,in the  
following year he went to ,pisa1 where  
he had some prospect of a large         
commission4  ,this1 however1 fell       
through2 he failed1 ,vasari tells us1 to

 satisfy himself in his trial picture of
 the ,assumption of the ,virgin1 a      
subject not well suited to his mind4    
,instead he returned home and painted a 
banner of ,pallas1 for ,lorenzo's       
younger brother ,giuliano1 the idol of  
,florence1 to carry in the magnificent  
tournament of ,january #adge4  ,the     
banner has been lost1 but it marks a    
point of departure in ,sandro's art2 as 
a banner1 it recalls the fact that the  
artist was also a craftsman1 and        
introduced a new method of making such  
things2 the new patron1 too1 whose life 
and love were alike destined to so brief
 a course1 whose personality was so     
vivid and so knightly1 exercised no     
little influence on the painter2 but    
most of all we note the changed theme1  
first among those classical subjects    
which the artist was in a special sense 
to make his own4 ,botticelli painted    
portraits both of ,giuliano dei ,medici 
and his adored lady1 ,simonetta1 the    
beautiful young wife of ,marco          

,vespucci2 and1 though these are lost1  
it is generally believed that           
,simonetta's lovely and innocent charm  
of face and character inspired many of  
his happiest fancies4  ,she died in     
#adgf1 and two years later1 ,giuliano   
was assassinated during ,mass in the    
,duomo4  ,sandro was employed by his    
brother--who himself had narrowly       
escaped death on the same occasion--to  
commemorate the assassins' shame by     
painting their portraits on the face of 
the ,palazzo ,publico4  ,a task more    
suited to his temper was the celebration
 of ,lorenzo's diplomatic success1 when 
in #adgi he succeeded in detaching the  
,king of ,naples from a hostile alliance
 against ,florence4  ,this occasioned   
the painting of ,pallas and the         
,centaur1 now on the walls of the       
,pitti1 one of ,sandro's most consummate
 pieces of decorative work4    ,,plate  
,,iii4--,,portrait ,,of ,a ,,man4       
7,from the panel in the ,florence       
,academy7  ,this portrait of a young man

 holding a medal of ,cosimo dei ,medici 
is interestingly related to the only    
other undisputed separate portrait of   
,sandro's1 that in the ,national        
,gallery4  ,it is supposed to represent 
,giovanni1 younger son of ,cosimo1 who  
died in #adfa3 if this be correct the   
portrait cannot have been painted by    
,botticelli for several years after its 
subject's death4  ,there is little      
convincing evidence on the matter4  ,the
 panel measures #ba by #ad inches4      
,illustration3 ,,plate                  
,,iii4--,,portrait ,,of ,a ,,man4       
,the enumeration of these commissions   
shows that the artist had become closely
 associated with the ,medici4           
,lorenzo's palace and country villas    
were at this time the centre of the most
 brilliant group of scholars1           
philosophers1 poets1 and artists in the 
world4  ,in this atmosphere             
,botticelli's genius came to flower4    
,he appears1 moreover1 to have enjoyed  
the friendship of ,leonardo da ,vinci1 a

 man eight years his junior1 who had    
been studying in ,verocchio's workshop1 
hard by that of the ,pollajuoli4  ,his  
was a spirit yet more subtle than       
,sandro's own--subtle even with the     
subtlety of the serpent--and the two men
 must have understood one another       
intimately4  ,botticelli himself was a  
pleasant1 even a jovial man1 but a man  
of moods4  ,like ,leonardo he never     
married4  ,another contemporary1 very   
different from ,leonardo1 with whom     
,sandro was brought into frequent       
contact1 was ,ghirlandajo1 the dexterous
 genre illustrator1 decorator1 and      
popular realist4  ,ghirlandajo's work   
is1 in its essentials1 the antithesis of
 ,sandro's1 but it is marked by great   
journalistic talent4  ,crowded with     
interest for the ,florentines1 it       
brought its author an immense success4  
,in #adhj both he and ,botticelli were  
painting together in the ,church of ,all
 ,saints1 and at the close of the year  
they were both invited to ,rome by ,pope

 ,sixtus ,,iv4 to decorate his new      
7,sixtine7 ,chapel4  ,thither they      
repaired with their assistants and other
 artists1 probably remaining there      
during the greater part of the next     
three years4  ,sandro is believed to    
have had some general oversight or      
arrangement of the whole work1 while he 
himself contributed certain portraits of
 ,popes1 and three great frescoes       
occupying nearly a thousand square feet 
of the chapel walls4  ,during his       
prolonged stay in ,rome he must also    
have painted some easel pictures2 one1  
an ,adoration of the ,magi1 is now in   
,st ,petersburg4 ,this ,roman interlude 
in his ,florentine life1 marked by      
direct rivalry and daily contact with   
artists of genius different from his    
own1 is in every respect central in his 
story4  ,he was now in his maturity1 a  
man approaching forty years of age1     
working on a conspicuous task1 in that  
,eternal ,city to which the greatest    
sons of ,florence were ever the foremost

 to offer spiritual homage4  ,but it may
 be doubted whether the task itself was 
calculated to evoke his highest powers  
and most characteristic qualities4      
,neither in its subjects1 its scale1 nor
 the conditions under which it was      
accomplished1 was it well suited to     
,sandro's genius1 and while the frescoes
 contain noble passages and inimitable  
illustrations of his art1 they cannot be
 regarded as among his masterpieces4    
,the frescoes were completed and the    
chapel opened in ,august #adhc4 ,vasari 
tells how great renown1 above that of   
all his fellows1 in the work1 ,sandro   
gained in ,rome1 and what large sums he 
received and squandered there4  ,before 
settling again in his own city1 he      
worked with ,ghirlandajo upon the       
decorations of the ,medici ,villa at    
,volterra4  ,from #adhj to #adij he was 
probably regarded as the greatest of    
living masters in ,florence1 and was    
busy with many commissions4  ,to this   
period belong several of his greatest   

works1 probably the ,birth of ,venus1   
greatest of them all1 with the ,madonnas
 of the ,pomegranate and of ,st4        
,barnabas1 certainly the ,lemmi frescoes
 and the ,bardi ,madonna4 ,venus and the
 frescoes are in the perfect manner     
which characterises his classical       
subjects4  ,the others are marked by    
some decline in technical handling4     
,but in saying this1 one must add that  
,sandro's work is1 in all periods1      
amazingly unequal1 alike in execution   
and conception4  ,one almost wishes     
indeed that ,vasari's dictum1 that he   
worked when he was minded1 was even more
 true than it appears to be4 ,for       
,sandro's subtle1 wilful1 whimsical     
genius hardly ever expressed its true   
nature in mere rivalry with other       
artists1 or in the service of           
ecclesiastical patrons4  ,yet his       
undisputed works are too few1 hardly    
fifty in all1 for us really to wish any 
away4  ,even the panels of the ,st4     
,barnabas predella1 and the tondo of the

 ,ambrosiana ,madonna can hardly be     
spared4  ,we come now to the later and  
stormier years of his life and          
work--years dominated for him and for   
,florence by the figure of the          
,dominican ,prior of ,san ,marco4       
,savonarola had already been for a time 
in the city1 but it was not till #adij  
that he made it his home1 and began to  
fill it1 as he was soon to fill the     
whole world1 with his prophetic         
denunciations of corruption both in the 
,republic and in the ,church4  #adib saw
 not only the death of ,lorenzo1 and    
with him of the golden age in ,florence1
 but the enthronement of a ,borgia as   
,father of the ,church4  ,it was the end
 of an epoch4  ,for a few years the     
prior held the city by the power and    
fascination of his inspired personality4
  ,he welcomed ,charles ,,viii4 of      
,france as a new ,cyrus1 the sword of   
the ,lord1 restorer and protector of the
 liberties of the ,republic2 and when   
the king and his army became a public   

menace1 it was he who bade them on their
 way4  ,in #adif he was at grips with   
the ,pope4  ,but two years later he had 
lost his hold upon ,florence1 and died  
upon the gallows amid the ferocious     
yells of the populace4  ,sandro1 the    
poet-painter1 was less happy than ,pico 
della ,mirandola1 the beautiful         
marvellous youth1 who had died at the   
beginning of these troubles wrapped in a
 friar's cloak1 the beloved follower of 
the lion-hearted preacher4  ,his own    
brother ,simone1 with whom he lived1 was
 one of the ,prate's followers1 and     
suffered exile for his cause4  ,there   
can be no doubt that he himself was     
profoundly influenced by ,savonarola4   
,after the tragedy of ,may #bc1 #adih1  
his workshop became a rendezvous for the
 many unemployed artists who had        
sympathised with the lost cause2 and    
during the long evenings1 those men     
would talk together of the dead days    
when ,christ was ,king of ,florence4    
,sandro lived on for more than a decade1

 through evil days4  ,ghirlandajo had   
died in the same year as ,pico1 when    
,charles had entered the city3 in #aejd 
his own pupil ,filippino preceded him to
 the grave4  ,the ,pollajuoli were dead2
 ,leonardo was but an occasional        
visitor1 while ,michael ,angelo was     
dividing his time between ,florence and 
,rome4  ,in #aejc ,botticelli was one of
 the artists consulted as to the        
position which should be allotted to the
 great sculptor's ,david4  ,he still    
shared some small property with his     
brother1 but his principal patrons were 
dead1 the times were out of joint1 and  
he was seeking consolation in the study 
of ,dante4  ,a folio volume of drawings 
by his hand1 illustrating the ,divine   
,comedy1 remains uncompleted2 whether   
owing to the death of him for whom it   
was intended1 or of the artist himself1 
we cannot tell4  ,sandro died on ,may   
#ag1 #aeaj1 and was buried in ,all      
,saints4    ,,plate ,,iv4--,,the        
,,madonna ,,of ,,the ,,magnificat1      

,,known ,,also ,,as ,,the ,,coronation  
,,of ,,the ,,virgin4  7,from the tondo  
in the ,uffizi7  ,probably painted about
 #adgi1 this is the most perfect example
 of ,botticelli's circular pictures4    
,the lines of the composition have been 
compared with those of the corolla of an
 open rose4  ,the colour is rich and    
harmonious1 and every detail exquisitely
 finished4  ,the ,virgin is still       
writing her song of the ,magnificat1    
while the ,child handles a symbolic     
pomegranate4  ,the tondo is #dd inches  
in diameter4  ,illustration3 ,,plate    
,,iv4--,,the ,,madonna ,,of ,,the       
,,magnificat1 ,,known ,,also ,,as ,,the 
,,coronation ,,of ,,the ,,virgin4       
,,ii  ,botticelli was a ,florentine in  
as intimate a sense as was ,dante       
himself1 and nowhere but in his native  
city can his work be fully appreciated4 
,it is true that notable examples of his
 art have been carried away from time to
 time to other places1 and that pictures
 attributed to him are still more widely

 scattered4  ,new ,york has one of his  
most beautiful early works1 the ,madonna
 formerly belonging to ,prince ,chigi1  
for whose sale to ,america the          
unpatriotic ,prince was heavily fined2  
,st4 ,petersburg has an ,adoration of   
the ,magi belonging to ,sandro's years  
in ,rome4  ,the ,st4 ,sebastian painted 
for ,lorenzo has found its way to       
,berlin1 where there is besides the     
,bardi ,madonna2 the badly damaged      
frescoes celebrating the wedding of     
,lorenzo ,tornabuoni are at the head of 
a staircase in the ,louvre2 ,rome has   
the ,sixtine frescoes2 ,milan has two   
,madonnas2 ,bergamo has a panel2 while  
our own ,national ,gallery has five     
works1 ranging from the earliest to the 
latest period4  ,but it is in ,florence 
that all but a small minority of        
,sandro's masterpieces are to be found1 
and it is in ,florence that one first   
really comes under the spell of the     
magician4  ,there1 in the ,uffizi1 in   
the ,sala de ,lorenzo ,monaco1 in the   

holy company of ,fra ,angelico's saints 
and angels1 is ,sandro's masterpiece1   
,the ,birth of ,venus4  ,it is a large  
canvas painted in tempera3#a but a      
horizontal join just apparent and       
running right across the picture1       
together with the medium used1 gives it 
at first sight the appearance of being  
executed upon wood4  ,it is in the pale 
cool colours of early morning1 enriched 
by the heavy red of the robe which is   
about to embrace the wanderer's lovely  
form4  ,there is a great sense of space 
behind her1 over the grey sea4 ,all     
about her the wind blows1 making the    
light very clean and clear4 ,she stands 
upon the edge of the great gleaming     
shell which has carried her1 tilting it 
down with her weight as she leans       
forward to step ashore4  ,her figure1   
tall1 slender1 and quite central in the 
picture1 feels the wind and light about 
it1 but not shrinkingly4  ,it floats and
 moves1 yet without consciousness of    
movement1 as it were a somnambulist     

moving across the sea4  ,the pearly     
luminous quality of this living ethereal
 body1 the heavy golden tresses of the  
long hair that hangs heavily against the
 wind1 which with one hand she holds1   
while she lays the other dreamily on her
 breast1 these are in the most perfect  
harmony with that flower-like immortal  
wistfulness which ,sandro has put into  
her face4  ,in striking contrast with   
this sea-born vision of ,love1 this     
strange visitant from an unknown world1 
stands the comparatively prosaic maiden 
who welcomes her and is about to wrap   
her in a rich mantle4  ,this earth      
maiden1 the representative of the       
,spring1 in her pale gown sprigged with 
cornflowers1 and her long plaits of dark
 hair1 is garlanded1 like the goddess in
 ,pallas and the ,centaur1 with olive   
branches4  ,the curves of the mantle1   
which she holds out against the         
boisterous wind1 make a delicious line  
that balances that of the ,venus4       
,after the figure of the goddess1       

however1 who really is no ,venus1 but   
rather the ,muse of ,sandro's art1 the  
ideal of his aspirations--after her     
figure1 the interest of the picture lies
 in the intricate whirl of living lines1
 of dark wings1 pale limbs1 and         
delicately coloured scarfs1 with which  
,botticelli has symbolised the winds of 
,spring1 stirring up the water with     
their feet and blowing the voyager on   
her way4    ,,plate ,v4--,,the ,,madonna
 ,,of ,,the ,,pomegranate4  7,from the  
tondo in the ,uffizi7  ,a companion to  
the earlier tondo1 this was probably not
 painted before ,sandro's return from   
,rome1 about the same time as the       
,venus4  ,it is broader in treatment and
 of more sombre colour than the         
,magnificat4 ,the eyes of the ,child1   
who raises his hand in blessing1 look   
straight out of the picture1 in marked  
contrast to the attitude of the earlier 
work4  ,there is a striking resemblance 
in many details1 but the two pictures   
are quite distinct in character and     

feeling4  ,this tondo measures #ef      
inches4  ,illustration3 ,,plate         
,v4--,,the ,,madonna ,,of ,,the         
,,pomegranate4    ,any attempt to convey
 by description the mystical            
significance of this decorative design  
would obviously be idle4  ,yet to miss  
that significance is to miss all4       
,regarded as the mere illustration of   
some verse of ,politian's1 or of        
,homer's hymn1 the picture is open to   
endless criticism--the figure of ,venus 
is out of drawing2 the promontories1    
waves1 and laurel trees are bare        
shorthand notes4  ,it is when the spirit
 in the onlooker responds to the spirit 
entangled in the magical lines and tones
 and colours of the painting1 that its  
indefinable beauty dawns upon him4  ,you
 must love ,botticelli's drawing if you 
are to understand it4  ,in the same room
 hangs a smaller picture1 very different
 in style1 an ,adoration of the         
,kings--a masterpiece too1 and worthy of
 the closest study1 but worlds removed  

from the ,venus4  ,it is very highly and
 deliberately finished1 and unlike its  
companion1 belongs to the years before  
,sandro worked in ,rome4  ,it contains  
portraits of the ,medicis and1 more     
important to us1 of the painter         
himself4#b  ,detached from the others he
 stands in the right-hand corner1 under 
the peacock1 wrapped in an orange       
mantle1 gazing at us over his           
shoulder--a tall figure of a man with   
powerful enigmatic face4  ,the          
composition of this picture1 with its   
thirty figures and varied colouring1 has
 been often and rightly praised4  ,in   
spite of the clear individualisation of 
personalities and the elaboration of    
magnificent accessories1 the unity and  
balance of design with its semi-circular
 grouping and the nobility and          
distinction of its lines1 are well kept4
  ,if it was painted in rivalry with    
,ghirlandajo1 for whose work it was at  
one time mistaken1 it is marked by an   
intensity of realisation foreign to that

 worthy painter4  ,these two pictures of
 the ,sala di ,lorenzo ,monaco1 the     
,venus and the ,adoration1 are          
representative of the two realms in     
which ,sandro worked2 the one1 of pure  
imagination1 wedding ,platonic ideas    
with a new conception of the            
possibilities of decorative art2 the    
other1 of the patrons and atmosphere of 
fifteenth-century ,florence4  ,very few 
of his pictures belong exclusively to   
the one realm or the other1 but to one  
or other belongs the influence which    
predominates in any one4  ,of the first 
class are notably the remaining works   
painted with classical motives4         
,foremost among these is the ,spring of 
the ,florence ,academy1 with its        
inimitable group of the ,graces dancing 
in a marvellous rhythm of flowing       
intertwining lines1 somewhat            
over-mannered1 it is true1 and with     
feeling a little forced1 but yet of     
quite unique grace and intensity of     
conception4  ,much wordy debate over the

 literary signification of this painting
 has come between the vital meaning of  
the design and those who behold it4  ,we
 may find suggestions in ,lucian or     
,alberti1 in ,politian's or ,lorenzo's  
verses1 but as a work of art it derives 
only secondarily from any of these4  ,it
 is a representation of beauty in a     
whimsical and even bizarre group of     
figures gleaming whitely under the dark 
trees between whose trunks shines the   
pale serene sky1 while the grass through
 which their delicately modelled feet   
are moving is rich and full of flowers4 
,this picture1 in which the figures are 
nearly life size1 while it has much in  
common with the ,venus1 belongs to an   
earlier period1 and is probably nearer  
in date to the ,adoration already       
described1 painted when the artist was  
about thirty-four years old4  ,some two 
years later he painted his ,pallas and  
the ,centaur4  ,the figure of the       
goddess1 beautiful as it is1 lacks      
something of the vitality and motion of 

the ,spring and the ,venus2 perhaps the 
artist has given too much thought to the
 lovely wreathing of the symbolic olive 
boughs about her breast and arms and    
head2 but on the other hand1 the        
melancholy ,centaur whom she leads by   
his heavy forelock is one of the most   
perfect expressions of his art4  ,it is 
among the peculiar qualities of ,sandro 
that he makes one feel1 in looking at   
this picture1 that it is one's own hand 
which grasps those dark curling locks2  
just as in the ,venus one is conscious  
of the light and the wind falling upon  
one's own body4  ,behind the ,centaur   
rises a mass of sculptured overhanging  
rocks1 beyond lies a boat in the bay4   
,almost always there is some note of    
vista and distance in ,botticelli's     
pictures4  ,the colour of this large    
canvas is very pleasing4  ,pallas is    
clad in a loose green mantle and an     
under-robe of white adorned with the    
triple rings of the ,medici2 she is     
wreathed with olive1 her auburn hair    

blows out behind her1 and her feet are  
covered with a sort of orange buskin4   
,nothing could be finer than the        
contrast she presents with the dark1    
wild1 pathetic figure of ,chaos and ,old
 ,night whom she is leading captive4    
,the most beautiful of ,sandro's earlier
 works1 a little panel only #aj inches  
by #h1 representing the return of       
,judith to ,bethulia after the slaying  
of ,holofernes1 is in the ,uffizi4  ,it 
has suffered from repainting1 the figure
 of ,judith having been shortened and   
its movement limited by the drawing back
 of the right foot at least half an     
inch1 so that it does not now correspond
 with that of ,abra following so close  
behind with her horrid burden2 but in   
spite of this1 it retains a wonderful   
joyous serenity of light1 line1 and     
colour1 and the same windy clearness of 
air and buoyant rhythmical movement as  
distinguishes the ,venus4  ,the figure  
of ,judith is so closely related to that
 of the ,fortezza1 painted for the      

,pollajuoli in #adgj1 and exhibited in  
the same gallery1 that it may well      
belong to the years immediately         
succeeding it1 when ,sandro was between 
twenty-six and thirty years of age4     
,the companion panel of ,holofernes1    
though interesting1 is much inferior as 
a design and is somewhat comic in its   
frank and ghastly violence2 it was      
evidently painted while the artist was  
under the influence of the ,pollajuoli4 
,,plate ,,vi4--,,the ,,annunciation4    
7,from the panel in the ,uffizi7  ,this 
interesting picture is probably only in 
part the work of ,botticelli4  ,it seems
 to have been produced in his workshop  
about #adij for the monks of ,cestello4 
,it is less harmonious and convincing in
 colour than ,sandro's masterpieces1 but
 is redeemed by the living movement     
expressed in the figure of ,gabriel1    
which is usually regarded as his work4  
,this figure is related to two others of
 his angels1 one in the ,ambrosiana     
tondo1 the other in the predella of the 

,coronation4  ,illustration3 ,,plate    
,,vi4--,,the ,,annunciation4    ,there  
are two other masterpieces which belong 
to this division of ,sandro's work1 but 
they are neither of them in ,florence4  
,the beautiful1 but sadly mutilated     
fresco of ,giovanna 7,albizzi7          
,tornabuoni1 with ,venus and the        
,graces1 long hidden under coats of     
whitewash in a villa near ,fiesole1 was 
discovered in #ahgc by ,dr4 ,lemmi1 then
 its owner1 and carefully cleaned and   
removed4  ,in #ahhb it was acquired by  
the ,french government4  ,in spite of   
the blank patches1 and the great cracks 
which break its surface1 this remains   
one of the most gracious and captivating
 of ,sandro's works4  ,it has the       
joyousness of flower-like colour1 the   
breadth and simplicity of treatment1 and
 withal the virginal quality which1 in  
his best moments1 were characteristic of
 the artist4  ,the masterly contrast    
between the flowing moving lines and    
strange symbolic faces of the four      

visitors1 and the upright demure girl   
with the kerchief on her head who       
receives them is very striking4 ,the    
second fresco1 of ,giovanna's husband1  
,lorenzo1 introduced into the company of
 the ,liberal ,arts and ,philosophy1 is 
less interesting4  ,a third fell to     
pieces immediately after discovery4     
,all were painted about the year #adhf1 
probably a little later than the ,venus4
  ,the remaining picture of this group  
is the so-called ,mars and ,venus in our
 own ,national ,gallery1 a long panel   
designed to stand above a doorway1 and  
probably painted about the same time as 
the more famous ,spring4  ,as in the    
case of that picture1 its subject has   
been a matter of much ingenious         
conjecture4  ,some commentators see in  
the two figures portrait studies of     
,giuliano dei ,medici1 and of ,simonetta
 ,vespucci1 and conceive that the       
sleeping ,giuliano is dreaming of his   
lady1 formerly clad in all the panoply  
of ,pallas1 but now disarmed by laughing

 loves4  ,it is obvious1 however1 that  
the armour belongs to the man who lies  
asleep leaning upon some of it4  ,the   
little satyrs with their roguish baby   
faces1 curly goats' flanks1 and budding 
horns1 who play with the warrior's lance
 and helm1 blow the conch in his ear1   
and wriggle through his breastplate1    
seem to have been suggested by a passage
 in ,lucian describing the marriage of  
,alexander4  ,but the subject of the    
picture need not now detain us1 nor need
 the long outstretched figure of the    
dreaming warrior2 its charm is in the   
exquisitely realised youthful grace of  
the lady in her long white robe1 leaning
 upon a crimson cushion with the dark   
grove of laurels behind her4  ,she is of
 the same spiritual family as the       
,graces1 and the central figure of      
,venus in the ,spring4  ,she may indeed 
be ,simonetta1 perhaps ,simonetta       
already deceased1 of whom her lover     
dreams2 but1 whatever her name1 her face
 and figure1 and from her the whole     

picture1 is radiant with that singleness
 and intensity of artistic conception1  
which gives to some of ,sandro's        
pictures the power of suggesting a sort 
of immortality of life4  ,and they have 
a surcharge of meaning1 an enigmatic    
quality like that of life itself1 which 
is seen in no other pictures of the time
 with the exception of ,leonardo's--and 
in ,sandro's the enigma suggests no     
sinister solution4  ,his women are      
creations of passionate love and human  
intimacy1 but withal they have an       
abiding quality which only a very       
reverent and chaste lover1 a lover not  
unlike ,pico della ,mirandola1 could    
have adored and chosen4  ,the date of   
this picture is quite uncertain4  ,the  
lady's face is curiously related to the 
faces in the ,lemmi fresco described    
above4   #a ,though his contemporaries  
were beginning to use the new medium of 
oil for their easel paintings1          
,botticelli adhered to tempera1 or      
distemper1 in which yolk of egg was     

generally the vehicle employed4 ,nearly 
all his pictures1 except1 of course1 his
 frescoes1 are upon wood4  ,the ,pallas 
and the ,centaur1 ,venus1 and ,nativity 
of #aejj1 are however on prepared       
canvas4  #b ,there are two separate     
portraits by ,sandro which are full of  
character and interest3 the portrait of 
a youth in our ,national ,gallery1 and  
of a man holding a medal in the         
,florence ,academy4  ,other portraits1  
such as those of ,giuliano dei ,medici  
at ,berlin and ,bergamo1 and of         
,simonetta1 may have come from his      
workshop1 but are not now numbered among
 the master's own works4     ,,iii  ,we 
must turn to the principal pictures in  
,botticelli's other1 and as ,i think1   
inferior manner1 indicating first1      
however1 the links which exist between  
the two groups4  ,the first of these is 
the ,calumny1 painted to the description
 given in ,alberti's ,treatise on       
,painting of a picture by ,apelles4  ,it
 is a comparatively small panel1 #b feet

 by #c1 containing ten figures1 and an  
elaborate background of sculptured      
marble arches1 literally covered with   
friezes and bas-reliefs4  ,it belongs to
 ,sandro's later years1 and is marred by
 a busy and somewhat theatrical         
violence4  ,one can hardly look without 
laughing at the helpless boyish figure  
of ,innocence1 with crossed ankles and  
folded hands1 dragged along dancingly by
 the ladylike ,calumny2 and             
unfortunately1 these form the central   
motive4 ,their poses mar a little the   
detached nude figure of ,truth1 standing
 on the extreme left with arm upraised  
and noble face lifted to heaven4 ,she is
 intimately related to the figure of    
,venus ,anadyomene--but here she seems  
tragically out of place4  ,the fancy    
lavished upon the bas-reliefs bears     
witness to ,sandro's whimsical          
imagination even in the midst1 as we may
 suppose1 of the dark days when         
,florence was full of the false spirit  
suggested in this panel4  ,with the     

,calumny ,i must mention1 though only in
 passing1 the several panels of the life
 of ,saint ,zenobius1 two of which are  
in the collection of ,mrs4 ,ludwig      
,mond4  ,less theatrical1 but often more
 violent in manner than the ,calumny1   
and not less definitely of the genre    
character of illustration1 they contain 
some pleasing colour1 geranium reds1    
soft greys1 and mauves1 blues1 and much 
white4  ,these1 with the illustrative   
panels from the stories of ,virginia and
 ,lucretia1 were probably painted after 
#adij1 for wedding chests4  ,a more     
important group of pictures comprises   
the six--including the ,adoration       
already described--which centre in the  
three figures of the ,holy ,family1     
whether they be called ,adorations or   
,nativities2 and the ,sixtine frescoes4 
,all these pictures are full of figures1
 most of them are set in large1         
carefully studied landscapes1 which seem
 to challenge ,leonardo's assertion that
 ,botticelli was indifferent to this    

part of his art4  ,the two most pleasing
 compositions1 after the aforesaid      
,adoration--the ,adoration now in ,st4  
,petersburg1 and the ,scenes from the   
,life of ,moses in the ,sixtine ,chapel1
 were painted about the same time in    
,rome4  ,in the former1 the ,holy       
,family is housed1 as in the tondo in   
the ,national ,gallery1 under a wooden  
shed erected between the ruined pillars 
of an older order1 a temple or perhaps a
 palace of kings4  ,it contains some    
forty figures1 besides horses1 which    
,sandro loved to introduce1 not always  
very successfully1 into his pictures4   
,too often1 like the charger of         
,holofernes1 they are studied not from  
life1 but from some other model3        
occasionally1 as for example in the     
,medicean ,adoration1 one recognises the
 real creature4  ,this ,st4 ,petersburg 
,adoration is broadly conceived1 and    
full of interest1 but it suffers from   
that conscious and obvious emotion which
 belongs to ,sandro's inferior work4    

,in his best1 his figures are pure      
creations1 certain of their purpose1    
confident of conveying a sense of beauty
 transcending mere subject-interest2    
they are not lifelike1 they are ideas   
and symbols of life1 and therefore able 
to convey the spiritual contact of      
living forms4  ,this is not the case in 
any of the ,adorations ,i am describing1
 nor is it in any of the ,sixtine       
frescoes if we except that of ,moses at 
the ,well4    ,,plate ,,vii4--,,the     
,,virgin ,,and ,,child ,,with ,,st4     
,,john ,,and ,,an ,,angel4  7,from the  
panel in the ,national ,gallery7  ,this 
beautiful painting is no longer ascribed
 to ,botticelli2 but it is obviously an 
indirect1 if not a direct1 product of   
his genius4  ,the ,virgin is distinct in
 type from those of the master1 and the 
painting of the ,child is dissimilar4   
,the name of ,giuliano da ,san ,gallo1  
one of ,sandro's friends1 and a famous  
,florentine architect1 is written across
 the back of the picture4               

,illustration3 ,,plate ,,vii4--,,the    
,,virgin ,,and ,,child ,,with ,,st4     
,,john ,,and ,,an ,,angel4    ,but in   
this marvellous central scene of a large
 fresco1 the very sheep are so intensely
 realised as to have an individuality   
over and above their mere sheepiness4   
,by the well1 under the great oak tree  
of the ,papal 7,rovere7 family1 ,moses  
is pouring water into the troughs for   
,zipporah and her sister4  ,his long    
luxuriant hair falls about a sensitive  
face4  ,behind and below him are the    
sheep1 so woolly that you can in fancy  
pass your hand over their fleeces4  ,on 
the opposite side of the well are the   
two ,midianitish maidens1 standing out1 
the bright central motive of the whole  
design2 one with her back turned and    
hands extended1 the other walking in a  
sort of dream1 her head drooping forward
 under the long thick locks of its heavy
 hair4  ,a skin full of fruit is slung  
round her waist1 and a distaff is in her
 hand4  ,about this group1 whose lines  

follow those of the well-mouth1 the     
painter has contrived to introduce      
half-a-dozen other incidents from       
,moses' life4 ,it was of the little     
terrier in this picture that ,ruskin    
wrote3 ,without any doubt ,i can assert 
to you that there is not any other such 
piece of animal painting in the         
world--so brief1 intense1 vivid1 and    
absolutely balanced in truth3 as        
tenderly drawn as if it had been a      
saint1 yet as humorously as ,landseer's 
,lord ,chancellor ,poodle4  ,he is sure 
that the dog has been barking all the   
morning at ,moses4  ,i quote this       
because it is almost the only passage of
 ,ruskin's which is true to             
,botticelli's work4  ,sandro's ,venus is
 a creative spirit1 she is not a mere   
individual1 but a living ,platonic      
,idea2 and through his power of         
realisation1 this little terrier1 a mere
 accessory in the foreground of a great 
fresco filled with details1 has a life  
of its own4  ,thus1 at its best1 his    

work is not representation at all1 nor  
mere illustration2 it is the re-creation
 in a new medium of the creatures and   
ideas he has conceived1 even to their   
least characteristics4  ,the two other  
,sixtine frescoes represent the         
,punishment of ,korah1 painted in       
celebration of the revolt and suicide of
 the ,archbishop of ,krain2 and that    
known either as the ,leper's ,offering1 
or the ,temptation of ,christ1 which was
 also intended to flatter the           
sensibilities of the ,pope4     ,,iv    
,we now come to the second great        
division of ,sandro's pictures1 his     
,madonnas and ,saints1 tondos1 panels1  
and altar-pieces1 painted for different 
patrons at intervals during his         
lifetime4  ,the most celebrated of these
 are the two tondos1 or round panels1 of
 ,mary with the ,child and several young
 angels1 hanging opposite to one another
 in the ,uffizi4  ,somewhat similar in  
design1 they are yet essentially        
different4  ,from its style1 the first  

was probably painted about #adgi1 and   
the second in the same period as the    
,venus1 and the ,bardi ,madonna         
7#adhd-adhe72 the two pictures being    
thus separated by ,sandro's sojourn in  
,rome4  ,the earlier1 that of the       
,magnificat1 is more brilliant and      
varied in colour1 and of consummate     
finish3 ,mary's face is related to that 
of the ,pallas 2 between her and the    
group of angels on the left is a distant
 landscape with curving river2 behind   
her shoulder1 supporting on one side the
 celestial crown1 which is so much too  
large to rest upon her head1 is a       
beautiful young angel of a distinctive  
type which hardly recurs in ,sandro's   
work4  ,this composition1 with its      
intricately curved1 and unobtrusively   
harmonious lines1 so perfectly adapted  
to the circular form1 has often been    
praised4  ,in the later tondo1 the      
,madonna with the ,pomegranate1 there is
 no distant scene1 but the sense of     
infinite vista is conveyed by the       

far-away1 pensive expression1 not only  
of the central figure with her slender  
drooping shoulders1 but1 as ,i think1 of
 the ,child himself4  ,the grouping is  
simple1 but less perfect than in the    
earlier work2 and there is a lack of    
harmony between the secular little      
beings with their wings1 flowers1 and   
singing books1 and the rapt ,mother and 
,child1 which we did not feel in the    
other1 where ,madonna herself1 guided by
 the ,babe1 is writing her song of      
praise4  ,but here ,botticelli has      
concentrated the religious feeling of   
the picture in ,mary's face1 and in it  
he has struck again the mystical note   
which vibrates through the whole of his 
,venus4  ,much has been said of the     
misery of this ,madonna2 for myself1 ,i 
see in her face far more of the rapt    
vision of one who sees immortal things  
in a mystery4  ,she is not glad because 
of them1 but her whole thought and being
 is separated by them from the things   
that change1 being set upon the things  

that endure4  ,with these two tondos1 ,i
 must mention for beauty and unity of   
conception the ,chigi ,madonna and that 
in the ,poldo-,pezzoli ,gallery at      
,milan4  ,the former is generally       
regarded as among his earlier works4 ,an
 open casement shows a river winding    
among wooded hills1 a church steeple    
having been painted in as an            
afterthought4  ,mary's attitude1 as she 
fingers the ears of corn thrust among   
the grapes in the bowl presented by a   
mysterious garlanded angel1 is not      
unlike that of the ,magnificat1 to which
 the whole composition is related4  ,but
 ,mary herself is of a very different   
type1 more nearly related to the        
,madonna at ,milan of which ,i shall now
 speak4  ,she1 also1 is seated by a     
window1 and like her sister of the      
,magnificat she is reading in a missal  
with decipherable words4  ,as in that   
picture too1 the ,child looks up at her 
with his hand on hers1 a crown of thorns
 circling his chubby wrist4 ,the colour 

is rich and harmonious2 ,mary being     
magnificently coiffed and clad4         
,another ,madonna in ,milan1 that in the
 ,ambrosiana ,gallery1 bears some       
resemblance both to the ,virgin just    
described1 and to her of the            
,magnificat4  ,as in the ,poldo-,pezzoli
 ,madonna1 the glories are either       
repainted or unusually elaborate1 and   
,mary has a star embroidered on her left
 shoulder4  ,here again is the open     
missal1 but now quite undecipherable1   
resting upon a cushion4  ,it is possible
 to conceive of the ,babe being another 
version of that in the ,poldo-,pezzoli  
picture4 ,but this ,ambrosiana ,madonna 
with her unimaginative face and         
uncompromising attitude1 this           
grotesquely sentimental ,child1 these   
three spiritless attitudinising angels  
prancing about on their errands1 is     
perhaps the least pleasing or           
characteristic of all the works now     
attributed to the master4  ,the picture 
is conventional to a degree2 a great    

canopy hangs in space over the ,virgin1 
between its curtains are seen the hills1
 towers1 and river of a distant scene4#a
  ,a somewhat similar canopy overhangs  
the ,virgin in the ,madonna of ,st4     
,barnabas in the ,florentine ,academy4  
,here1 too1 angels are holding back the 
curtains1 while others display the crown
 of thorns and the nails4 ,mary sits on 
a raised throne worked with elaborate   
bas-reliefs4  ,before her1 with their   
backs to her and the ,child1 are six    
saints1 among them1 with beautiful face1
 but rather bunchy figure1 ,st4         
,catherine4 ,similarly elaborate and    
enthroned1 though this time under a     
canopy of palm1 is the ,bardi ,madonna  
with the two ,saints ,john at ,berlin4  
,this1 perhaps the most elaborately     
detailed of all ,sandro's pictures1     
measures #f feet by #f4  ,like          
,augustine in the ,st4 ,barnabas        
picture1 the ,evangelist is occupied    
with his book and pen1 while an eagle   
stands behind him2 the ,baptist1        

carrying his tall staff and banderole1  
,behold the ,lamb of ,god1 is very nobly
 drawn1 recalling in handling the figure
 of the ,centaur4  ,but the picture is  
not a happy one2 it is set and          
conventional1 the result of great skill 
and labour1 but little love4    ,,plate 
,,viii4--,,the ,,virgin ,,and ,,child   
,,by ,,an ,,open ,,window4  7,from the  
panel in the ,national ,gallery7  ,an   
interesting school-work1 in which the   
different parts of the picture are all  
taken from some design or painting of   
the master4  ,the colour and line are1  
however1 lacking in the distinction     
belonging to his own work4              
,illustration3 ,,plate ,,viii4--,,the   
,,virgin ,,and ,,child ,,by ,,an ,,open 
,,window4    ,the same must be said of  
the ,coronation of the ,virgin in the   
,florence ,academy1 one of ,sandro's    
largest tempera works1 an upright       
altar-piece measuring #ab feet by #h1   
commissioned by the guild of            
gold-workers for ,savonarola's ,church  

of ,san ,marco4  ,it is painted in two  
sections--like ,titian's                
,assumption--the lower1 containing four 
too carefully posing saints2 the upper1 
a sort of tondo1 with a golden ground1  
in which the figures of the ,virgin and 
the ,father are both obviously          
incommoded by the shape of the frame4   
,but the picture is notable for its ring
 of dancing angels1 and the plucked     
roses scattered among them are like     
those in the ,birth of ,venus4  ,much   
the same plan is adopted in the last of 
,sandro's paintings1 which is evidently 
related to this one1 the ,nativity in   
the ,national ,gallery1 already referred
 to4  ,here again is an upper and a     
lower picture1 and in the upper1 the    
dancing angels re-appear against the    
glory4  ,instead of roses1 however1     
there are crowns and banderoles1 and the
 angels carry olive branches4  ,at the  
head of this picture is an inscription  
in base ,greek which has been thus      
translated3 ,this picture was painted by

 me1 ,alessandro1 at the end of #aejj1  
during the troubles of ,italy1 at the   
half time after the time which was      
prophesied in the eleventh chapter of   
,st4 ,john the ,evangelist1 and the     
,second ,woe of the ,apocalypse1 and    
when ,satan shall be loosed on the earth
 for three years and a half4  ,after    
which the devil shall be enchained1 and 
we shall see him trodden under foot as  
in this picture4  ,it indicates         
,sandro's belief in a final             
reconciliation and justification1 and   
refers plainly to the execution of      
,savonarola which had occurred just     
three and a half years before4  ,thus it
 forms a kind of sequel to the ,calumny4
  ,while the picture is somewhat naively
 explanatory1 it is filled with intense 
feeling1 and suggests the influence upon
 ,sandro of the ,prate's favourite      
master1 ,fra ,angelico4#b  ,it is       
generally believed to be the last of his
 paintings1 but it seems probable that  
the drawings to illustrate the ,divine  

,comedy may belong to a time even later4
  ,they were made for a second-cousin   
and namesake of the ,magnificent1       
,lorenzo di ,pier ,francesco1 who died  
in #aejc and was a patron of ,michael   
,angelo as well as of ,sandro4  ,the    
original ,,ms4 was purchased about the  
beginning of last century by the then   
,duke of ,hamilton1 but was sold in     
#ahhb to the ,prussian ,government4  ,it
 is now in the ,berlin ,museum1 and     
contains eighty-five drawings in        
silver-point1 finished with pen and ink4
  ,eight other drawings belonging to the
 same series are in the ,vatican        
,library4  ,as eight are still missing1 
the complete series would have consisted
 of a hundred1 in addition to the chart 
of the ,inferno4  ,the drawings vary    
much in value and interest4  ,many of   
them are deficient in both respects2 but
 some are perfect examples of his art4  
,such is the design for ,paradise ,i41  
with its slender trees bowing their tops
 to the morning breeze in the meadows   

watered by the circling stream ,eunoe1  
over which ,beatrice and ,dante rise    
together against the wind1 lifted by the
 light of ,divine ,love4  ,it is full of
 aspiration and wide air1 and has a     
curious ,japanese quality4  ,very       
different in suggestion is that of the  
,chained ,giants 7,inferno ,,xxxi47     
which recalls some early ,german work1  
and reminds us that ,sandro may have    
been influenced by the drawings of      
,schongauer1 and other ,northern artists
 and designers4  ,vasari says that      
,botticelli was a prolific designer1 and
 some of his drawings1 notably the      
exquisite ,abundance1 in the ,british   
,museum1 are among his finest works4    
#a ,the ,annunciation in the ,uffizi1 is
 an interesting but doubtful work4  ,the
 figure of ,gabriel is closely related  
to two others of ,sandro's2 one the     
angel supporting the ,child in the      
,ambrosian ,madonna1 the other the      
,gabriel in the ,predella to the        
,coronation4  ,but in the larger work   

the angel is much more fully realised2  
in face he is nearest in type to the    
beautiful angel already noted in the    
tondo of the ,magnificat1 but graver4   
,the colour of the picture is hard1     
crude1 and unpleasing4  ,it is supposed 
to have been painted about #adij4  #b   
,there are many other uncertain pictures
 which were formerly credited to        
,botticelli2 and several of these still 
parade under the master's name in our   
,national ,gallery4  ,no4 #bge1         
reproduced in this volume1 may have     
issued from his workshop4  ,it has ,san 
,gallo's name written on the reverse    
side4  ,neither ,nos4 #ghb nor #aabf are
 by ,sandro4 ,but the genuine works in  
,london include the attractive portrait 
of a young ,florentine 7,no4 #fbf72 and 
the two ,adorations ascribed to his     
pupil ,filippino ,lippi 7#eib1 #ajcc74  
,the ,print-,room in the ,british       
,museum has the exquisite drawing of the
 ,abundance 7,silver-point74  ,in the   
basement of the ,national ,gallery are  

copies 7,arundel ,society7 of the       
,sixtine ,frescoes1 the ,birth of       
,venus1 ,spring1 and the best of the    
,lemmi frescoes4  ,facsimiles of the    
drawings for the ,divine ,comedy have   
been published4  ,the other ,london     
pictures usually accredited to ,sandro  
are the ,madonna 7partly by his hand7 in
 ,mr4 ,heseltine's collection and the   
panels already referred to in that of   
,mrs ,mond1 all belonging to his later  
years4  ,the former shows the use       
,botticelli made of gold to give a sunny
 sheen between the spectator and distant
 hillside4     ,v  ,in reviewing the    
subjects chosen by ,sandro for his      
pictures1 one is struck by certain      
characteristic omissions4  ,with the    
exception of a most perfunctory and even
 grotesque panel of ,christ rising from 
the ,sepulchre1 forming part of the ,s4 
,barnabas predella1 of the doubtful     
,pieta at ,munich1 which may have been  
partially executed by ,sandro after     
,savonarola's great sermons in ,holy    

,week1 and the figure of ,christ thrice 
introduced as an afterthought into the  
first of the ,sixtine frescoes2         
,botticelli has only painted the central
 figure of ,christian art as an infant4 
,twice only has he introduced the figure
 of ,god the ,father into his work1 and 
then without distinction4  ,his         
devotional pictures represent a very    
young ,madonna1 with a chubby but       
thoughtful child1 and1 where there are  
other figures1 either an aged           
patriarchal ,joseph1 or one or more     
attendant or messenger angels1 winged in
 the later work1 and certain saints4    
,his favourite amongst these was        
,augustine4  ,but ,botticelli is at his 
best when he escapes from               
conventionality of subject1 and is able 
to give wing to a lyrical imagination   
comparable to that of ,shelley4  ,he is 
one of those who feel the wind of the   
spirit blowing out toward new worlds4   
,he loved the wind1 and all things that 
the wind caresses1 trees1 draperies1    

floating hair1 and the naked body4 ,also
 he loved the light and hated darkness4 
,he had inspired moments when he beheld 
that the old order of the mediaeval     
world had passed already away1 and the  
hearts of men were turning to the pure  
worship of living incarnate             
loveliness--the mystery of a re-born and
 immortal pleasure1 ,venus ,anadyomene1 
beheld with mystic sight4  ,but in that 
age it was a prophetic vision1 and his  
own eyes failed him4  ,he died in a time
 of darkness4  ,for four centuries his  
visions were forgotten1 to be beheld    
again by us with a renewal of the wonder
 and aspiration1 the passionate desire  
for freedom and for beauty1 out of which
 they came4     ,printed by             
,,ballantyne1 ,,hanson  ,co4  ,edinburgh
  ,london       ,,in ,,the ,,same       
,,series    ,,artist4          ,,editor4
    ,,velazquez4       ,s4 ,l4          
,,bensusan4   ,,reynolds4        ,s4 ,l4
 ,,bensusan4   ,,turner4                
,,lewis ,,hind4   ,,romkey4             

,,lewis ,,hind4   ,,greuze4             
,,alice ,,eyre ,,macklin4               
,,botticelli4      ,,henry ,b4 ,,binns4 
,,rossetti4        ,,lucien ,,pissarro4 
,,bellini4         ,,george ,,hay4      
,,fra ,,angelico4    ,,james ,,mason4   
,,leighton4        ,a4 ,,lys ,,baldry4  
,,rembrandt4       ,,josef ,,israels4   
,,watts4           ,w4 ,l4 ,,hare4      
,,titian4          ,s4 ,l4 ,,bensusan4  
,,raphael4         ,,paul ,g4 ,,konody4 
,others in ,preparation