Botticelli's secret The lost drawings and the rediscovery of the Renaissance

Bard College literature professor Luzzi (In a Dark Wood) recounts in this vivid chronicle the history of Renaissance painter Sandro Botticelli's illustrations depicting Dante's Divine Comedy. Commissioned by Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de' Medici, the 92 extant drawings serve as "visual proof of how the Renaissance period broke with the spiritual doctrine of its medieval past," according to Luzzi, who also notes that because Botticelli completed only one illustration (The Map of Hell) in full color and intricate detail, the remaining unfinished drawings offer a "window" into the artist's creative process. Luzzi's rich narrative delves into the biographies of Dante and Botticelli, the tumultuous Florentine culture that inspired them, and the period of Enlightenment-era obsolescence endured by both men before their rediscovery in the 19th century. Along the way, Luzzi also tracks how the illustrations disappeared after Botticelli's death in 1510, reemerged in the 17th century, and were bought by the director of the print collection at the Royal Museum of Berlin from a profligate Scottish nobleman in 1882. Transferred to a Nazi bunker in the waning days of WWII, the drawings narrowly avoided a fire that destroyed hundreds of priceless artworks. Richly detailed and fluidly written, this is a master class in art history. Illus. (Oct.)

Tracing the fate of remarkable 15th-century drawings. In 1475, the artist Sandro Botticelli (circa 1445-1510) was at the height of his prominence, proclaimed "Master of Painting, one of Florence's highest artistic honors." Soon, he undertook two important projects: to illustrate each of the 100 cantos in Dante's Divine Comedy, one set for a deluxe edition intended for mass production and another, commissioned by Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de' Medici--Botticelli's most influential patron and a cousin of Lorenzo il Magnifico-- for a private, hand-lettered volume. Luzzi, a professor of comparative literature, brings his extensive knowledge of Dante and Italian history to a richly detailed investigation of the creation, reception, and afterlife of Botticelli's second project: drawings that informed an understanding of the fertile, contradictory period that came to be known as the Renaissance. The Dante drawings went unfinished for more than a decade while Botticelli worked on other projects, including three frescoes in the Sistine Chapel and The Birth of Venus. In 1494, however, Lorenzo apparently rushed the artist to fulfill the commission, probably to offer the volume as a gift to the French king, Charles VIII, who had just marched into Florence and with whom Lorenzo hoped to ingratiate himself. Luzzi recounts the sad trajectory of Botticelli's last years and his diminished posthumous reputation until a renewed interest in Dante in the late 18th century and a celebration of the Renaissance by pre-Raphaelites and prominent art critics in the 19th century led to "the Victorian cult of Botticelli." After migrating through Europe, the drawings, not seen for some 400 years, ended up in England, where they were bought by an astute German art historian. Precariously surviving World War II in a salt mine and divided during the Cold War, in 2000, "all 92 extant Dante illustrations by Botticelli appear[ed] together for the first time at exhibitions in Rome, Berlin, and London." The book includes photos, a timeline, and a list of "key terms." A fresh perspective on an iconic artist and his time. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.