The Legion of Honor is displaying a new exhibition featuring the work of Renaissance Artist Botticelli, most famous for his Birth of Venus painting. The exhibition is the first dedicated solely to Botticelli’s large collection of drawings. The exhibition Botticelli Drawings opens on November 19 and runs through February 11, 2024.
Botticelli’s drawings were essential for creating his incredible paintings, considered masterpieces of the Renaissance movement. The exhibition unveils five newly attributed drawings and includes 60 works from 39 different institutions to create the exhibit. Works come from world-famous museums, including Gallerie degli Uffizi and the Musée du Louvre, among many others.
Botticelli’s paintings are world-renowned for their grace and exquisite line, but the relationship between his drawings and paintings has never been fully investigated,” remarked Thomas P. Campbell, Director and CEO of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco in a press release. “Now, in this stunning and groundbreaking exhibition, the majority of Botticelli’s graphic output takes us below the surface of the paintings to illuminate the artist’s creative process, from conception and development to final execution.”
The collection offers a unique assemblage of his work that has never happened before and was years in the making, beginning back in 2020.
When viewers first walk into the exhibition, they are greeted by a large projection with shifting images that feature detailed close-up shots of the exhibited works. This is intended to tune the viewer’s eyes to the details of the drawings.
The exhibition is designed chronologically, following Botticelli’s life as an artist. Guests will walk through a total of 6 rooms, each with a core theme. The exhibition also notes which paintings the drawings were prepared for, helping viewers further understand his process.
About Renaissance artist Sandro Botticelli
Sandro Botticelli was born in 1445 in Florence, Italy and was a student of master painter Fillipo Lippi, who greatly influenced his own artistic style. Botticelli is considered one of the quintessential Renaissance artists, with Birth of Venus (c. 1485) and La Primavera (c. 1477–82) symbolizing the Renaissance period to this day. Botticelli painted in various genres popular at the time, including frescos, wood panels, altars, and round paintings. He painted frescos for the grand Sistine Chapel and was a favored artist of the powerful Medici family in Florence.
Botticelli Drawings runs from November 19, 2023–February 11, 2024, at the Legion of Honor.