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This
Allegory of Fortitude would launch him. All
of Florence came to see it, and the painter
was much admired. The great Florentine families
who were always in search of young artists who
could contribute something to increase their
prestige, flocked to him. He spent almost all
of his life working for the great families of
Florence, especially the Medici family, for
whom he painted portraits.
Probably the most famous work of the Florentine
painter is The Birth of Venus (1477-78), though
it was not until the discoveries of the Pre-Raphaelites
in the 19th Century that the work of Botticelli
was widely known. His pictures are mainly religious
and mythical, and he produced delicate drawings,
most notably to accompany Dante's Divine Comedy.
When Leonardo da Vinci returned to Florence
in 1500, Botticelli was most definitely pushed
aside, and in spite of running a busy and productive
studio, he died in relative obscurity.
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