Portrait of a Young Man by Sandro Botticelli was created in ca. 1480 – 1485. The painting is in National Gallery, London. The size of the work is 37,5 x 28,3 cm and is made as an tempera and oil on wood.

This apparently simple portrait of a young man was revolutionary in Italian painting. Until this moment, artists painted people either in profile view, so only half their face was visible, or by turning them three-quarters to face the viewer. Here, Botticelli paints the boy head on, mapping his whole face – the fleshy nose, dimpled cheeks, warm brown eyes and determined, protruding chin.

Here, Botticelli paints the boy head on, mapping his whole face – the fleshy nose, dimpled cheeks, warm brown eyes and determined, protruding chin. Images of the whole face were usually reserved for so-called ‘portraits’ of Christ used for private prayer; showing a young man in such a way was radical. (Read more in National Gallery, London)

About the Artist: Italian painter of the Early Renaissance Sandro Botticelli was born the city of Florence. From around 1461 or 1462 Botticelli was apprenticed to Fra Filippo Lippi. In 1472 Botticelli took on his first apprentice, the young Filippino Lippi, son of his master. Botticelli and Filippino’s works from these years, including many Madonna and Child paintings, are often difficult to distinguish from one another… Read more

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