Picture 6: Lorenzo
Picture
Picture 7: Giuliano
Picture 8: Gaspare di Zanobi
del Lama
Cosimo de’ Medici and his two sons are illustrated as the three Magi, while the
figures of Poliziano and Pico della Mirandola on the left corner are visible.
Lastly, the self-depiction of the artist himself can be seen on the right and
lower corner, dressed in yellow clothes and endowed with a challenging look to
the viewer.
Picture 9: (rightwards) Lorenzo, Poliziano, Pico
della Mirandola
Picture 10: Botticelli
The outdoor garden of the Medici is presented beyond realistic limitations,
exceeding every expectation in color, design and composition. The influence
and, at the same time, independence from Sandro’s former mentor, Fra Filippo
Lippi, can be very easily recognized by taking a glance at this masterpiece. The
vast use of the blue, white and golden colorization had been an inspiration
from Lippi. The graceful shape and form of the figures, however, are elements
of his personal artistic touch. Finally, Vasari, an Italian painter, architect,
author and historian, makes a reference of Sandro Botticelli’s painting in his
book “Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects”, saying;
“It is not possible to describe the beauty that Sandro depicted in the heads that
are therein seen, which are drawn in various attitudes, some in full face, some in
profile, some in three-quarter face, others bending down, and others, again, in
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