The Drawings
While still alive, Botticelli was already considered to be one of the greatest painters of all time, mainly because the Florentines themselves considered him to be the "cherished child of the gods". This therefore meant that the Florentines awaited and acclaimed every one of Botticelli's works. The great paintings were talked about, the Madonna of the Magnificat tondo in the sacred vein, the Birth of Venus or Spring, which were called profane, all these were discussed, but people forgot to talk about what his hands produced, what immediately become the object of the highest admiration: his drawings. It should be pointed out, and this is very important, that Botticelli was the first artist whose drawings were admired by collectors. In general, during the 15th century, a drawing was part of the preparation of a painting; once the painting was finished, it was thrown away. Botticelli gave drawings their exalted existence because, in the actual drawing, his hands produced something of the miraculous. We are going to look at several drawings and admire the mastery.
Study for the Mystic Nativity
;)
Pomona
An admirable enhanced drawing which is neither a study for a painting, nor a study for anything at all, but a Pomona drawn in red chalk with white highlights which was given to Lorenzo the Magnificent as a work in its own right.;)
Study for the Adoration of the Magi (Medici)
;)
Notably a study of these expressive heads and, at the same time a study of these
horses, extraordinary in their liberty, horses with four or six eyes as
Botticelli made corrections as he drew.
The Allegory of Abundance
;)
Study for the Saint Barnabas Altarpiece
;)
One of the angels parting the curtain. We should note that from the first drawing to the second and from the second to
the third, but even more from the third to the fourth, Botticelli's drawings
increasingly take on a totally separate language. One has the distinct feeling
that the first and second drawings are still preliminary drawings, but from the
third and fourth on, they become art unto themselves. One of the very important
parts of Botticelli's contribution to his century is to have, so to speak,
given the drawings nobility as a means of plastic expression. And he was,
moreover, one of the first to have given drawings away.
We are somewhat in debt to Sandro Botticelli for the admiration we still have today in the 20th century for drawings, and also for the fervor of collectors of drawings in the history of collections. It is true that when one is capable of simultaneously filling a sheet of paper with such evanescence and such sureness of hand, one could well be considered the father of drawing. It is very curious that, shortly after his death, the drawings were in such demand that forgers were asked to continue making them.
We can add this small additional section on the invention of the art of drawing to what we have already learned about Botticelli - it's very important.