Madonna with Child and Singing Angels, about 1477By Sandro Botticelli

Florentine painter Sandro Botticelli (1444 – 1510) is regarded as epitomizing the spirit of the Italian Renaissance. Renowned as one of the greatest colorists in Florence, Botticelli became a favorite member of inner circle of the Medicis. Painting extraordinary wall frescoes in the Sistine Chapel and several monumental mythological allegories often upholding the triumph of love and reason over base instinct. Little known for centuries after his death, his work was rediscovered in the late 19th century by a group of English Pre-Raphaelites.