Sandro Botticelli (circa 1445–1510) is by now an almost household name for those familiar with Western art. Yet one might be surprised to learn that in the few centuries after the Renaissance, artists largely disregarded him as primitive, medieval, and not on par with the perfection achieved by Raphael and Michelangelo.
Indeed, it has only been 100 years since Botticelli’s reputation resurged as an important master of the early Renaissance, whose works speak much about the intricate relationship between Greco-Roman and Christian cultures in Italian society.
Pallas and the Centaur
“Pallas and the Centaur,” circa 1480–1485, by Sandro Botticelli. Tempera on canvas. Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy. (Gennadii Saus i Segura/CC BY-SA 4.0)
The monumental mythological painting commonly titled “Pallas and the Centaur” ranks as one of the most extraordinary masterpieces in Botticelli’s oeuvre. Under a rocky cliff and against a distant landscape, two life-size figures pose casually in the foreground. On the left, stands a centaur, a demigod creature from ancient mythology whose beastly nature was often associated with unrestrained passion and lust. On the right, a woman dressed in an elaborate costume takes a strand of the centaur’s curly hair in her hand, as she looks at him dispassionately….