The influence of Sandro Botticelli (the master of Early Renaissance painting perhaps most famously known for The Birth of Venus) extends far beyond his legacy in the cinquecento. Some things never get old, and Botticelli's influece is strongly felt even in today's contemporary artwork. With strong nods to this tradition, artists continue to employ recognizable religious iconography and motifs that hark to the biblical history potent in Botticelli’s work.
Drawn from Phaidon’s newly updated monograph Botticelli in conjunction with the Artspace archives, these six pairs of Early Renaissance masterpieces and contemporary works (now available on Artspace) illustrate the continuting relevance of this true virtuoso.
The Virgin
HEAD OF THE VIRGIN
Sandro Botticelli
1484–85
ALPHA-ATION "LINDSAY"
Walter & Zoniel
2015
Madonna and Child
MADONNA OF THE ROSE GARDEN
Sandro Botticelli
c.1470
MELINDA WITH CHILD LOMBARDI ITALY
Steven Lyon
2004
Nativity
MYSTIC NATIVITY
Sandro Botticelli
1500
ALLEGORIA SACRA, JUNGLE ELEGY (TRIPTYCH)
AES+F
2012
Annunciation
ANNUNCIATION
Sandro Botticelli
c.1489
HOW TO MEET AN ANGEL, COMMENT RECONTRER UN ANGE
Ilya Kabakov
2014
Crucifixion
MYSTIC CRUCIFIXION
Sandro Botticelli
c.1500
PER NON DIMENTICARE
Julian Schnabel
1997
Pietà
PIETÀ
Sandro Botticelli
After 1500
LAST RIOT, THE BRIDGE
AES+F
2006