A unique window into the turbulent era of a beloved Renaissance artist.

The life of Sandro Botticelli coincided with the close of the 15th century and the beginning of the 16th, a period that saw transition from the rule of the Medici, whose name is synonymous with patronage of the arts, to the fanatical reforms of the Dominican Savonarola. A focussed exhibition of major paintings from all decades of Botticelli's career, along with works by his followers and contemporaries, enabled three experts to explore the relationship between his distinct yet changing visual "voice" and the turbulent Florence society of his day.

Hilliard T. Goldfarb, Chief Curator of Collections at the Gardner Museum, discusses both the cultural context in which Botticelli's works were produced and the trajectory of his career. James Hankins, Professor of History at Harvard University, writes about the impact of Savonarola and religious fundamentalism on Florence in the 1490s. Laurence Kanter, Curator of the Lehman Collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, has written the catalogue entries and an historical survey of critical appraisals of the artist.

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