During the Renaissance, drawings became an integral part of the massive paintings and frescoes that have long been associated with that period. Among other things, they were a way for artists to get an idea of how to arrange the space of a composition, and they also helped artists hone the incredibly lifelike poses that have become synonymous with masterpieces by the likes of Leonardo da Vinci , Tiziano Vecellio (better known as Titian) and Tintoretto. In legally binding contracts, drawings were even used as a reference point for the work being agreed upon.
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When it came to drawings, Sandro Botticelli was in a class of his own, with one expert even touting him as “the greatest artist of linear design Europe has ever had”. Botticelli’s line became the basis for the dance-like aesthetic that permeates his production and can be found in masterpieces such as Birth of Venus and La Primavera. According to Italian Renaissance expert Furio Rinaldi, “Botticelli’s use of drawing goes back to the core meaning of the word ‘choreography’… With his drawings, Botticelli writes the composition and draws the dance.”
For the Legion of Honor Museum in San Francisco, Rinaldi has curated an exciting new exhibition around Botticelli’s drawings. Featuring 27 drawings by the artist – including five newly attributed – and a total of more than 60 works from dozens of lenders, it offers Bay Area audiences a rare opportunity to experience one of the largest exhibitions of the Italian master’s work ever seen. to see.
“It was an incredible effort that took more than three years to organize,” Rinaldi said during an interview in his office at the Legion of Honor. “For me there is something very incredible about Botticelli being in San Francisco, so far away from where he worked. For many it will probably be the only opportunity to see so much of this great artist’s work.”
Like many painters of the time, Botticelli relied on drawings throughout his creative process to help hone and shape forms that would eventually come together as a painting. What Botticelli Drawings aims to show is how integral these sketches were to the unique qualities that set Botticelli apart from his contemporaries, and that have kept his artworks resonating for over 500 years and referenced in everything from The Simpsons to the cover of Lady Gaga’s 2013 album Artpop. “We really leaned into his thoughts and into his graphic articulations of his ideas,” Rinaldi said. “They are so essential to the aesthetic that makes Botticelli so appealing because the linearity of these sketches is actually a reflection of his painting technique.”
The works on display in the Legion of Honor are quite masterful. Here the audience sees representations of the human form that appear so lifelike that they could very well walk off the page. As this exhibition shows, these forms often appear to be in motion. Whether they are jumping back in fear during a fight, running to announce the incarnation of Jesus Christ or lifting a decapitated head, the subjects of Botticelli’s drawings seem to dance, moving with a fluidity and supple presence that makes these figures very different than others. “I really tried to go beyond the core of this attraction and this magnetism,” Rinaldi said. “Many contemporary artists and dancers are inspired by Botticelli. And I felt that the common thread was the line, the perfect linearity of Botticelli’s composition.
Because Botticelli’s drawings are the focus of this exhibition, each gallery of the exhibition also contains one completed painting to provide the audience with a point of synthesis. Works shown here include such important pieces as The Virgin and Child with the young John the Baptist and The Adoration of the Magi, including paintings that have rarely, if ever, traveled to the US. These paintings help the public get a sense of how Botticelli’s drawings were part of the creative process that ultimately culminated in a work on canvas. “Each room has a seminal painting,” Rinaldi said, “an important work to help the public anchor and recompose the ideas and figures they see scattered in the drawings.”
Organizing an exhibition of Botticelli’s drawings was a major challenge that took more than three years to complete. This was partly due to the fact that although Botticelli is recognized as an innovator and master of drawing, only about twenty of his works have survived to modern times. “Very few drawings have survived that can be attributed to Botticelli,” says Rinaldi. “If you think about Leonardo da Vinci, we have almost thousands of his drawings. For other artists it could be hundreds. For Botticelli, by my count, we have no more than 30 sheets.” Because Botticelli died in poverty, his drawing studio was not preserved and maintained like those of many of his contemporaries, but was sold after his death. “If you think of Leonardo da Vinci or Michelangelo, there is a slightly different situation where they all have their students continue their studio and keep the drawings and use them as a kind of visual heritage of the artist’s ideas.”
What is striking about Botticelli Drawings is the very sleek, minimalist presentation of the works. The Legion of Honor’s galleries are pared back in a way that gives the show a very polished, contemporary feel, almost as if it’s borrowing from the very clean, bright aesthetic of the Apple Store. “I wanted to put the audience in the best possible position to appreciate this work, so that you will see a very sparse performance,” Rinaldi said. “Everything is just very clean and very modern. Even though the exhibition is firmly anchored in art historical research, I try to remove Botticelli from art historical mythologies.” The result of Rinaldi’s aesthetic creates an interesting and certainly original feel.
Ultimately, Botticelli Drawings succeeds in presenting the artist in a different way, one that resonates and allows us to look at his work as if for the first time. It’s a big show – a welcome chance to see pieces that rarely travel anywhere, let alone to the United States, and to take an in-depth look at the intimacy of the creative process of an artist who comes from a a completely different world than that of the United States. in which we live. “Renaissance Florence is so far away in time and place that people don’t even know what it means anymore,” Rinaldi said. “I think it’s time to turn the page and look at these artists with today’s eyes.”