Portrait of Smeralda Bandinelli by Botticelli Postcard

Portrait of Smeralda Bandinelli by Sandro Botticelli, c. 1475, is a tempera painting of a society lady of Florence. Botticelli utilizes his mastery of linear perspective drawing in the creation of pictorial depth as the receding lines of the architectural forms which frame the subject converge on a vanishing point near her eyes, drawing the viewer’s eye into the composition. The clean contours and classical form of the figure, face and dress reflect the study of classical antiquity that characterized the Renaissance. Sandro Botticelli (1445-1510) was a Florentine painter of the of the early Italian Renaissance who apprenticed under the master Filippo Lippi. With strong Gothic influences, the mature work of Botticelli reflected a study of antique classical sculpture and was noted for its linear grace and rhythm, flattened relief-like forms with strong contours, and subtle colouring. The complexity of meanings in Botticelli’s compositions, from sources drawn from classical antiquity, mythology and philosophy, enthraled scholars for centuries.