Renaissance Lives | Botticelli, Artist and Designer

A revealing look at the commercial strategy and diverse output of this canonical Renaissance artist.

'Botticelli, Artist and Designer' - Ana Debenedetti (Culturespaces, Paris), Michelle O'Malley (Warburg Institute), François Quiviger (Warburg Institute)

In this vivid account, Ana Debenedetti re-examines the life and work of Renaissance artist Sandro Botticelli through his business acumen. Focusing on the organization of Botticelli’s workshop and the commercial strategies he devised to make his way in Florence’s very competitive art market, Debenedetti looks with fresh eyes at the remarkable career and output of this pivotal artist within the wider context of Florentine society and culture. Uniquely, Debenedetti evaluates Botticelli’s celebrated works, like The Birth of Venus, alongside less familiar forms such as tapestry and embroidery, showing the breadth of the artist’s oeuvre and his talent as a designer across media.

Ana Debenedetti is director of culture and exhibition at Culturespaces, Paris, and formerly a curator of paintings at the Victoria and Albert Museum. She has published on Renaissance art, philosophy, and poetry.

Michelle O'Malley is Emeritus Professor of the Warburg Institute.

Renaissance Lives is a series of biographies published by Reaktion Books as well as a series of online conversations discussing the ways in which individuals transmitted or changed the lives of traditions, ideas and images.

https://warburg.sas.ac.uk/renaissance-lives

This event took place on 8 December 2021.