Celebrated in his time then largely forgotten for nearly 300 years, Sandro Botticcelli was ‘rediscovered’ in the 19th century by the pre-Raphaelites and his influence on the art world has remained undiminished ever since, with many artists referencing his works in their own or using his works as a starting point.On March 5, the Victoria and Albert Museum, in partnership with the Gemäldegalerie – Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, is opening the blockbuster exhibition “Botticelli Reimagined” which gathers 150 works from around the world, including more than 50 works by the Florentine artists.To underscore Botticelli’s far reaching influences and his impact on popular culture, the exhibition starts with the famous scene of from the first James Bond movie, Dr. No (1962), where Ursula Andress emerges from the sea in a white bikini, conch shell in hand like a modern-day incarnation of Botticelli’s celebrated painting Birth of Venus, 1482-85.That painting, or more accurately its influence as the painting cannot leave the Uffizi gallery in Florence, is the focus of the first part of the exhibition, titled "Global, Modern, Contemporary," which presents works by artists as varied as Vik Muniz, René Magritte, Tamara de Lempicka, Andy Warhol, David LaChapelle, and Cindy Sherman, along with creations by designers like Elsa Schiaparelli and Dolce & Gabbana all of which to some degree reference the Birth of VenusThe second part, "Rediscovery," explores the artist’s influence on Pre-Raphaelites like Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Edward Burne-Jones, William Morris, while the third and final section, "Botticelli in his Own Time,” presents a selection of Botticelli’s works, such as his portraits of the legendary beauty Simonetta Vespucci and his patrons Lorenzo de’ Medici, along with masterpieces like Pallas and the Centaur, 1482, on loan from the Uffizi.To learn more about the exhibition, Blouin Artinfo talks to co-curator Ana Debenedetti (watch the video)"Botticelli Reimagined" runs from March 5 through July 3. To see some of the painting, click here
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