Two other works of note, both painted as part of a commission to Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de Medici, were the Primavera and the Birth of Venus. Primavera showed Botticelli's style as influenced by Neoplatonic love, the allegory of the piece that of the "lush growth of Spring" (Fossi, 1998)
His personalized style was captured in each work, all elegantly executed on canvas with the influence of his patrons and the humanist thinkers. Botticelli was born under the name Alessandro di Mariano Filipepi in Florence (Gietmann, 1907)
The artist was apprenticed around 13 or 14 years of age by Filippo Lippi, whose style defined his earlier works. Lippi's style was particularly evident in that of Botticelli's first painting, Fortitude (1470), a work which showed the fusion of Lippi's style and the craftsmanship of fellow artist and engraver Antonio Pollaiuolo (Lightbown, 1989)
Madonna of the Magnificat was commissioned and painted in 1481. In a similar style to that of Adoration of the Magi, once again Botticelli painted the Medici family, this time that of Piero de Medici's line (Sline, 2007)
It is the record of a spiritual struggle, a pilgrim's progress in which the pain is remembered." (Botticelli, Sandro: The Mystical Nativity) This was also the only painting that Botticelli ever signed, which is possibly an indication of its importance to him
pioneering new types of portraiture in Italy, influenced by Netherlandish art." (BOTTICELLI, Sandro) Botticelli was not well-known after his death but he was later recognized as one of the leading figures of the Italian renaissance
It is the record of a spiritual struggle, a pilgrim's progress in which the pain is remembered." (Botticelli, Sandro: The Mystical Nativity) This was also the only painting that Botticelli ever signed, which is possibly an indication of its importance to him
The painting can be interpreted in terms of many complex mythical allegories and has been described as "Venus as a symbol of spring, being adorned with flowers by the Graces." (Primavera, 1482, Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence
The painting is based on the classical writings of Virgil and Homer. (The Birth of Venus, 1484, Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence