Sandro Botticelli (1445-1510 ), real name Alessandro di Mariano Filipepi, was an Italian artist of the early Renaissance. A prolific painter, especially of altarpieces and works with a religious theme, Botticelli's most famous work today is, ironically, the mythological Birth of Venus which is now on display in the Uffizi Gallery of his native Florence. Widely regarded as one of the greatest painters in Western art, Botticelli blended colour, form, and perspective to produce religious and secular works with outstanding visual poetry.
