Botticelli’s Secret
- Author Joseph Luzzi
- Narrator Keith Szarabajka
- Publisher Blackstone Publishing
- Publish Date 1 November 2022
- Run Time 6 hours and 55 minutes
- Format Audio
- Genre European history, History, History of art, The Arts.
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What to expect
A true historical “detective story” full of insight about how we look at art―and the artists and eras that produced it
Some five hundred years ago, Sandro Botticelli, a painter of humble origin, created work of unearthly beauty. An intimate associate of Florence’s unofficial rulers, the Medici, he was commissioned by a member of their family to execute a near-impossible project: to illustrate all one hundred cantos of The Divine Comedy by the city’s greatest poet, Dante Alighieri.
A powerful encounter between poet and artist, sacred and secular, earthly and evanescent, these drawings produced a wealth of stunning images but were never finished. Botticelli declined into poverty and obscurity, and his illustrations went missing for four hundred years.
The nineteenth-century rediscovery of Botticelli’s Dante drawings brought scholars to their knees: this work embodied everything the Renaissance had come to mean. Today, Botticelli’s Primavera adorns household objects of every kind.
This book is essential to explain not only how and why this artist became iconic but why we still need his work―and the spirit of the Renaissance―today.
Critics Review
“Brilliantly sets the operatic stage of vibrant, violent Renaissance Florence and brings to life the characters who helped resurrect Botticelli.”
“Replete with unexpected twists and dangling threads…a story about the force of art to shape lives.”
“[Luzzi] reads Botticelli’s drawings as ‘a “poem” in their own regard’ and as a crucial link in the ‘mapping of the human spirit’s transition’ from one era to the next.”
“Anyone who wants a short dramatic book about Renaissance Florence should reach for this title first…a vivid portrait of culture, politics, and daily life in the city that has become the very image of Renaissance history.”
“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.”
“Brilliantly conceived and executed, Botticelli’s Secret is a riveting search for buried treasure.”
“Presents a compelling brief…of coming face-to-face with transcendent human endeavor.”
“I would recommend Botticelli’s Secret to anyone who loves art, who enjoys good storytelling, and who is interested in how the human spirit rediscovered itself.”
“Full of intimate and personal insights into the masters and masterpieces of Renaissance Italy and told with his unique blend of scholarship and superb storytelling.”
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