Botticelli

I love Botticelli and this book delivers a fascinating insight of his works with glorious pictures. I went to the Uffizi Museum in Florence and didn't have enough time to see all of his works displayed there . That museum you'd need 2 or 3 days to go thru of the fantastic artworks encased there!

This is a VERY complete edition of Botticelli's work, and most images are very sharp and capture the essense of the originals, even though reproductions could have been better. I feel lucky to have gotten a "new" copy of this 2015 book in 2023 and at about the original price, so a bargain. The cover is not as nicely made as I would like, the reproductions are good but not excellent. Paper is rough, not glossy. I would gladly pay 2-3 times what I paid to get GREAT reproductions, but this volume brings back the paintings to me that I saw in Italy last year very well. I was disappointed at the 1.5-2" bright red remainder mark on the bottom edge of pages, and that along the way someone sliced this copy opening a box so 1/8-1/4" slivers of a few pages fell off as I paged through. Still I am happy I bought this.

This book is marvelously illustrated. We had a superficial knowledge of Botticelli's paintings and were looking for a volume that would fill that gap. This book did that in spades. The color plates are beautiful! We didn't delve into the text enough to offer a critical evaluation of it. The cover image is a close-up of his famous depiction of Venus which stands as one of the greatest paintings of all time! The image of her face is intriguing as she is expressionless. Yet, I can't stop looking at her. It reminds me of paintings by Sulamith Wulfing whose subjects' faces draw you in with blank expressions. However, I am not suggesting that they are artists of the same order. The central figure of Venus is alluring but not in a lascivious manner, although Savonarola might disagree. Fortunately, it survived the Bonfire of the Vanities. The other paintings, including an astounding portrait of Simonetta Vespucci who is thought to be the model used for Venus, are exquisite.

There are many Botticelli books floating around to remind us how far we have progressed in digital photography and the reproduction of art in books. Nothing I have seen comes close to the exceptional and unbelievably generous quality of these reproductions which have given me unexpected insight into the human hand that produced them. The text, while sometime tedious in its effort to draw sweeping generalization about the artist and patron agenda, and attributing intellectual literary sources to explain the iconography and symbolism behind the details, nonetheless brings to life the artist and his atelier in a way I find endlessly fascinating. What this book lacks, from the point of view of an ignorant artist like myself, is technical details behind how these works were logistically produced from raw materials and the naked eye. It would be nice if once in a while the scholarly critics stepped aside and gave voice to master craftsmen or artisan specializing in producing these kinds of paintings, or even the excellent people we do not hear about who painstakingly restore these painting from 600 years of pollution or neglect.

….by one of the current top scholars for Florentine renaissance art. Excellent print. What I would call a sumptuous book. Go and get it….

This is the perfect book on Botticelli and is exactly what I was looking for. The cover is not a dust cover (which I dislike). It is printed directly on the hardcover of the book. Can't go wrong with the author, Frank Zoller. The book has incredibly beautiful color plates throughout. This book is a perfect addition to my art library, and as an artist an art historian, it is a great reference as well.

If you love Primavera or the Birth of Venus, this book is for you. The writing can be a little academic at times-what you would expect from a monograph-but it's easy to read. You will get a little bit of art criticism/art theory (i.e.detailed explanations of the creative process on several paintings; inspiration vs execution); some socio-political context with (the Medicis, Savanarola); and more than anything, an awesome coffee book with oversize pages- a feast to the eyes. The last 90 pages is comprehensive catalog of paintings & drawings attributed to Botticelli, so art geeks will specially enjoy this section.PS - Do not miss the different versions of Simonetta Vespucci by Botticelli & his workshop.

Beautiful hard cover with story of the life of Botticelli by a known authority. I purchased the book after attending an exhibition in Williamsburg, Va.. The museum had sold out of all artist information, so I was delighted to find it on line.