Portrait of Simonetta Vespucci the age of 23. Sandro Botticelli was inspired by her features in "The Birth of Venus" and Piero di Cosimo was a passionate admirer. The subject is a young girl portrayed at half length in profile, facing left. Her breasts are bared and a small snake twines around the necklace she is wearing. In the background is an open landscape, arid on the left and lush on the right. The dark clouds are a symbol of her early death, as is the dead tree in the background. At the base of the painting is a border with an inscription that
Lamentation over the Dead Christ (Botticelli, Milan) Lamentation over the Dead Christ (Botticelli, Milan) The Lamentation over the Dead Christ with Saints is a painting of the "Lamentation of Christ" by the Italian Renaissance artist Sandro Botticelli, dated between 1490-1495. The painting was originally kept in Santa Maria Maggiore, Florence. It is currently housed in the Museo Poldi Pezzoli of Milan. The painting is one of two versions of "The Lamentation" by Botticelli. "The Lamentation over Dead Christ", circa 1492, is currently housed in the Alte Pinakothek in Munich. The painting depicts the lamentation (expression of great sorrow or deep sadness) over Christ’s death. The Virgin Mary