Late paintings (from 1490)
by Sandro BOTTICELLI

The political and religious crisis of the 1490s clearly left its mark on Botticelli's late work. He created fewer monumental works and devoted himself principally to producing devotional pictures and small altars. His themes was now almost exclusively religious ones. In his style there was a decisive change to a hitherto unknown degree of soberness and strictness. In his compositions, he increasingly dispensed with lively decorations, concentrating instead on expressive structuring of the figures. It would be oversimplifying to ascribe this evident change in Botticelli's later works exclusively to the influence of Savonarola, as Vasari does. If he is to be believed, Botticelli was a keen follower of Savonarola, and neglected his work to such an extent that he became impoverished. But quite the opposite must have been the case, he was reasonably well off, and he continued to work until after 1500, as is proven by existing works and documents.

However, the artist did not remain unaffected by the events of his time. The change in Botticelli's style appears to be an indicator of the spirit of the time shortly before the end of the century, shaped as it was by political unrest and a belief that the last days were at hand.

Preview Picture Data File Info Comment
Lamentation over the Dead Christ with Saints
c. 1490
Tempera on panel, 140 x 207 cm
Alte Pinakothek, Munich

1150*770
True Color
142 Kb



Lamentation over the Dead Christ
c. 1495
Tempera on panel, 107 x 71 cm
Museo Poldi Pezzoli, Milan

803*1158
True Color
148 Kb



Lamentation over the Dead Christ (detail)
c. 1495
Tempera on panel
Museo Poldi Pezzoli, Milan

950*1164
True Color
152 Kb



Holy Trinity (Pala della Convertite)
1491-93
Tempera on panel, 215 x192 cm
Courtauld Gallery, London

950*1048
True Color
174 Kb



Holy Trinity (detail)
1491-93
Tempera on panel
Courtauld Gallery, London

807*1042
True Color
153 Kb



St Dominic
1490s
Tempera and oil on canvas transferred from panel, 45 x 26 cm
The Hermitage, St. Petersburg

861*1500
True Color
165 Kb



St Augustine in His Cell
1490-94
Tempera on panel, 41 x 27 cm cm
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

710*1102
True Color
145 Kb



The Last Communion of St Jerome
c. 1495
Tempera on panel, 34,5 x 25,4 cm
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

824*1082
True Color
161 Kb



The Last Communion of St Jerome (detail)
c. 1495
Tempera on panel
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

1055*770
True Color
133 Kb



Madonna and Child and the Young St John the Baptist
1490-95
Tempera on canvas, 134 x 92 cm
Galleria Palatina (Palazzo Pitti), Florence

800*1142
True Color
160 Kb



Head of an Angel
1495-1500
Oil on panel, transferred to canvas, laid down on panel, 42 x 32 cm
Private collection

855*1133
True Color
88 Kb



The Virgin and Child with Three Angels (Madonna del Padiglione)
c. 1493
Tempera on panel, diameter 65 cm
Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, Milan

1009*1001
True Color
120 Kb



Christ Crowned with Thorns
c. 1500
Tempera on panel, 47,6 x 32,3 cm
Accademia Carrara, Bergamo

720*1045
True Color
127 Kb



Crucifixion
c. 1497
Tempera on canvas, 73,5 x 50,8 cm
Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge

720*1041
True Color
180 Kb



The Transfiguration, St Jerome and St Augustine
c. 1500
Tempera on panel, 28 x 36 cm
Galleria Pallavicini, Rome

1060*770
True Color
132 Kb



Judith Leaving the Tent of Holofernes
1495-1500
Tempera on panel, 36,5 x 20 cm
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

570*1079
True Color
87 Kb



Agony in the Garden
c. 1500
Tempera on panel, 53 x 35 cm
Museo de la Capilla Real, Granada

700*1011
True Color
167 Kb



The Mystical Nativity
c. 1500
Tempera on canvas, 109 x 75 cm
National Gallery, London

850*1116
True Color
197 Kb



The Mystical Nativity (detail)
c. 1500
Tempera on canvas
National Gallery, London

1088*800
True Color
171 Kb



The Mystical Nativity (detail)
c. 1500
Tempera on canvas
National Gallery, London

823*1001
True Color
188 Kb



The Mystical Nativity (detail)
c. 1500
Tempera on canvas
National Gallery, London

799*1001
True Color
177 Kb



Adoration of the Magi
c. 1500
Tempera on panel, 108 x 173 cm
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

1300*803
True Color
191 Kb




Summary of works by Botticelli
| early paintings | late paintings |
religious paintings | page 1 | page 2 |
| Cappella Sistina | San Barnaba | San Marco |
| allegories | Nastagio | scenic stories | portraits |
| drawings | illustrations for Dante's Divine Comedy |