Scenic stories (1490s)
by Sandro BOTTICELLI

The ability to give the written word visual form in painted pictures is also something that sets Botticelli's later scenic works apart. The small painting of the Calumny of Apelles was not a commissioned work. It is not certain why Botticelli created it, executed with the fineness of a miniature. Many interpretations have been suggested for the painting, without any of them becoming entirely clear.

Botticelli also set dramatic scenes amidst a lavishly decorated architecture in the paintings of the Story of Virginia and The Story of Lucretia. It is thought that the two panels formed a pair. The ancient Roman writer Livy, who told the stories of the two Roman heroines, also connected Virginia and Lucretia with each other.

St Zenobius, Florence's first bishop, was particularly venerated. In the 15th century an active cult dedicated to this local saint, who died in 417, was revived. Botticelli created a four-part cycle of paintings in which he depicted the deeds and miracles of St Zenobius. A description of the life of the saint, published in 1487, may well have been one of the artist's sources.

Preview Picture Data Info
Calumny of Apelles
1494-95
Tempera on panel, 62 x 91 cm
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence


Calumny of Apelles (detail)
1494-95
Tempera on panel
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence


Calumny of Apelles (detail)
1494-95
Tempera on panel
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence


Calumny of Apelles (detail)
1494-95
Tempera on panel
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence


Calumny of Apelles (detail)
1494-95
Tempera on panel
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence


The Story of Virginia
1496-1504
Tempera on panel, 85 x 165 cm
Accademia Carrara, Bergamo


The Story of Virginia (detail)
1496-1504
Tempera on panel
Accademia Carrara, Bergamo


The Story of Lucretia
1496-1504
Tempera and oil on panel, 84 x 180 cm
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston


The Story of Lucretia (detail)
1496-1504
Tempera and oil on panel
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston


The Story of Lucretia (detail)
1496-1504
Tempera and oil on panel
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston


The Story of Lucretia (detail)
1496-1504
Tempera and oil on panel
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston


Baptism of St Zenobius and His Appointment as Bishop
1500-05
Tempera on panel, 66,5 x 149,5 cm
National Gallery, London


Three Miracles of St Zenobius
1500-05
Tempera on panel, 65 x 139,5 cm
National Gallery, London


Three Miracles of St Zenobius
1500-05
Tempera on panel, 67,3 x 150,5 cm
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York


Three Miracles of St Zenobius (detail)
1500-05
Tempera on panel
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York


Last Miracle and the Death of St Zenobius
1500-05
Tempera on panel, 66 x 182 cm
Gemäldegalerie, Dresden



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 |



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