“The Botticelli Renaissance” at the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin seeks to present the Florentine artist’s lasting influence on later generations, including contemporary figures such as Andy Warhol, Cindy Sherman and Robert Rauschenberg.The first two rooms present artworks inspired by Botticelli, or Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi (1445-1510) to give his real name.The last room is reserved for the master himself. Thus, the visitors’ first glimpse of the Renaissance artist is via the contemporary reproductions, pastiches and homages.The image of “Venus pudica” or “modest Venus” featured in “The Birth of Venus” (ca. 1486, tempera on canvas) has become an iconic representation of femininity.The soft, linear features of the title figure, as well as Botticelli’s meticulous treatment of the decorative floral background, found many admirers amongst Pre-Raphaelites.Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s “The Day Dream” (1880, oil on canvas) displays similar aesthetic sensibility, as the artist portrays a beautiful woman in a luscious green landscape.Contemporary artists have taken Botticelli’s image of Venus as a pretext to criticize the idealization of this particular type of femininity.Xin Xin’s “Venus, after Botticelli” (2008, oil and acryl on canvas) focuses on the face of the goddess, endowing her with Asian features.The last room is devoted solely to the Florentine painter’s works, with an impressive collection of his religious paintings, portraits and drawings.Botticelli manages to leave his unique mark even while painting subject matter that was popular during his lifetime.Botticelli’s rise to fame happened only over a course of the last two centuries. Before that, his works were largely forgotten.“The Botticelli Renaissance” gives plenty of reasons as to why Botticelli made such a successful comeback: his mysticism intertwined with sensuality, an eye for decorative detail and graceful compositions, which capture the viewers’ attention even to this day.“The Botticelli Renaissance” runs at the Gemäldegalerie through January 24, 2016 and then travels to the V&A in London.
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