The Birth of Venus even surpassing him. Giving added support to this interpretation of Botticelli as a born-again Apelles is the fact that that very claim was voiced in 1488 by Ugolino Verino in a poem entitled "On Giving Praise to the History of Florence." While Botticelli might well have been celebrated as a revivified Apelles, his "Birth of Venus" also testified to the special nature of Florence's chief citizen, Lorenzo de' Medici. Although it now seems that the painting was executed for another member of the Medici family, it likely was intended to celebrate and flatter its head, Lorenzo de' Medici. Tradition associates
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