One of the earliest large-format canvases of the Italian Renaissance, and effectively immovable.
Artist
Sandro Botticelli
Date
c. 1484–1486
Medium
Tempera on canvas
Dimensions
172.5 × 278.9 cm
Location
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence
History
What the record shows
Painted in Florence, most likely for a member of the Medici family, at a moment when canvas was still an unusual support for a work of this scale.
The thin tempera layer is applied over a gesso ground with almost no varnish, giving the surface its matte, chalky luminosity.
The Uffizi does not lend the work. Its size, its unlined canvas and the fragility of the paint layer place it outside any acceptable transport risk profile.
