The Importance Of Art: The Birth Of Botticelli's Life

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A great artist, Eugene Delacroix, once said, “What moves men of genius, or rather what inspires their work, is not new ideas, but their obsession with the idea that what has already been said is still not enough.” This famous saying, highlights one of the reasons art or even a single painting is so important. Art is more than shapes and colors; art brings about so much more meaning. It expresses life, history, beauty, and morals. It shows beliefs and contributes to the many reasons that make a human being, a human. Art represents past, present, and future. An ancient painting that was made over 500 years ago could have all the meaning in the world. It shows what life was back then, how humans have evolved since, and how humans should evolve in the future. Understanding a future is the understanding the past, which is why Sandro Botticelli’s famous painting the Birth of Venus, is so important to understand. Knowing a masterpiece is first knowing a little bit about the artist behind the masterpiece. Sandro Botticelli was born in Florence, Italy and lived from 1445-1510. His real name was Alessandro Filipepi but he was brought up by his brother who nick-named him Botticelli meaning “little barrel”. The book Sandro Botticelli Life and Work by Ronald Lightbown talks about how Botticelli spent his entire life in Florence, experiencing some of the most common hardships that were expected during the fifteen century such as plague, flood, hard winters, and famine. Botticelli was a famous early Renaissance painter and is recognized for his well-known painting Primavera, which was known as the largest mythological painting of the Early Renaissance. This work has a humanistic nature and is said to reflect contemporary ... ... middle of paper ... ...that really brings an ancient religion back to life and makes me realize just why humans centered their lives on these angelic super humans. Botticelli did such an amazing job of making a Greek fantasy come to life. It’s almost like its own beautiful world that makes one want to enter. Conclusively, Botticelli’s painting the Birth of Venus, was one of the most insightful paintings of the Renaissance. It gave amazing painting techniques and depictions of the ideal women. It portrayed parts of Greek mythology beliefs and showed just why Venus was the main focus of the painting due to her beauty and grace. This masterpiece represents the birth of love and that spiritual beauty is a main force of life. After 500 years, colors may fade and paint may chip but the breathtaking message Botticelli was trying to perceive about Greek mythology and beauty will always stay.

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