World Art Treasures:Sandro Botticelli

Two frescoes in the Lemmi Villa

Several years after the joust, a very flattering commission from the Tornabuoni family brought Botticelli to their villa beyond the city walls, the Tornabuoni Villa, currently known as the Lemmi Villa. They wanted him to paint two frescoes on the loggia walls, as their son, Lorenzo Tornabuoni, was about to marry Giovanna Albizzi, another example of those Florentine marriages which was to everyone's advantage. As the big ceremony was take place in the villa's loggia, it had to be decorated, and Botticelli was asked to do this.

	Giovanna paying homage to Venus and the Graces Most notably in the Graces, one can already see all the feeling of roundness, the sinuosity of the line which truly make a Botticelli painting a divine painting.

Giovanna paying homage to Venus and the Graces

Most notably in the Graces, one can already see all the feeling of roundness, the sinuosity of the line which truly make a Botticelli painting a divine painting.

	Lorenzo received by the Liberal Arts procession Sandro Botticelli was one of the first during the Renaissance who dared to show people in full-face, three-quarter-face and even from behind and gives us the impression of this strange learned assembly toward which this austere young man was seemingly being pushed. An admirable fresco, if only because of the splendid severity of the young man's profile and because of the details of the Liberal Arts, in which one finds the same feeling of evanescence, of line movement, which allow even images as severe as those of the Liberal Arts to take on an absolutely extraordinary divine aura.

Lorenzo received by the Liberal Arts procession
Sandro Botticelli was one of the first during the Renaissance who dared to show people in full-face, three-quarter-face and even from behind and gives us the impression of this strange learned assembly toward which this austere young man was seemingly being pushed. An admirable fresco, if only because of the splendid severity of the young man's profile and because of the details of the Liberal Arts, in which one finds the same feeling of evanescence, of line movement, which allow even images as severe as those of the Liberal Arts to take on an absolutely extraordinary divine aura.

These frescoes are not in very good shape, as soon after the wedding, they were whitewashed - this type of decoration was not meant to last. How many works of the Masters - da Vinci, Mantegna and others - have we lost, because they were decorations for parties? With no malice aforethought, they were simply whitewashed to change the decor. It was only in 1863 while doing some construction work, that the Lemmi family, which had inherited this villa from the Tornabuoni family, discovered that there was something under the whitewash. Birnari, the antique dealer was called in, and he immediately saw that there was something worthwhile and offered to buy them: he had recognized Botticelli's work. He had to work quickly and make sure that the heirs did not find out before the construction was finished; he had the frescoes stripped and separated so badly that he lost more half of them. It would take him more than eleven years to sell these Botticelli phantoms. The Musée du Louvre finally bought them.