Sandro Botticelli, Three Miracles of Saint Zenobius

ca 1500

Paintings sorted by     Historical period   |   Painter   |  Subject matter   |  Pigments used

Botticelli-four-scenes-from-the-early-life-of-Saint-Zenobius-London
Related Paintings

Botticelli-Three-Miracles-of-Saint-Zenobius-London

Sandro Botticelli, Three Miracles of Saint Zenobius, ca 1500, National Gallery London

Botticelli-Three_Miracles_of_Saint_Zenobius_MET_DT380

Sandro Botticelli, Three Miracles of Saint Zenobius, 1500-10
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Sandro_Botticelli_-_Last_Miracle_and_the_Death_of_St-Zenobius-Dresden

Sandro Botticelli, Last Miracle and the Death of Saint Zenobius, ca 1500
Gemäldegalerie alter Meister, Dresden

Overview

Medium: tempera
Support: wood
Size: 66.7 x 149.2 cm

Art movement: Renaissance
National Gallery London
Inventory number: NG3918

1 Zenobius rejects the bride chosen by his parents and walks away
2 Zenobius is baptized
3 His mother is baptized
4 He is consecrated as Bishop of Florence by Pope Damasus

Sandro Botticelli, Four Scenes from the early life of Saint Zenobius is painted on a wood panel and is one of the series of four paintings depicting episodes from the life of the patron saint of the city of Florence. The pigment analysis revealed a palette consisting of natural ultramarine, azurite, malachite, vermilion, lead white, lead-tin yellow, and yellow ochre.

Pigments

Pigment Analysis of Botticelli, Four Scenes from the Early Life of Saint Zenobius

This pigment analysis is based on the work of Jill Dunkerton and Ashok Roy from the National Gallery in London (1).

 

Botticelli-four-scenes-from-the-early-life-of-Saint-Zenobius-London-pigments

 

1 The sleeve of Saint Zenobius: azurite and lead white with traces of natural ultramarine in the shadows
2 The green and yellow robe of the rejected bride: artificial malachite (green verditer) and lead-tin yellow

Botticelli-four-scenes-from-the-early-life-of-Saint-Zenobius-London-pigments-1-2

 

3 Blue sky: azurite and lead white

Botticelli-four-scenes-from-the-early-life-of-Saint-Zenobius-London-pigments-3

 

4 Dark green carpet: artificial malachite
5 Brown urn: vermilion, lead white and vegetable black

Botticelli-four-scenes-from-the-early-life-of-Saint-Zenobius-London-pigments-4-5

 


6 Pink-brown floor: vermilion and lead white

Botticelli-four-scenes-from-the-early-life-of-Saint-Zenobius-London-pigments-6

 

7 Opaque red draperies: vermilion

Botticelli-four-scenes-from-the-early-life-of-Saint-Zenobius-London-pigments-7

 

 

References

(1) Dunkerton, J., Roy, A. ‘The Materials of a Group of Late Fifteenth-century Florentine Panel Paintings’. National Gallery Technical Bulletin Vol 17, pp 20–31

Pigments Used in This Painting

Lead white

Lead white

Malachite

Malachite

Azurite

Azurite

Vermilion

Vermilion

Lead-tin yellow

Lead-tin yellow

Ultramarine natural

Ultramarine natural

Resources

Videos

Video: 'Art in Florence: Botticelli' by Jones Gallery

Video: 'Sandro Botticelli: A collection of 139 paintings (HD)' by LearnFromMasters

Publications and Websites

Publications

(1) Dunkerton, J., Roy, A. ‘The Materials of a Group of Late Fifteenth-century Florentine Panel Paintings’. National Gallery Technical Bulletin Vol 17, pp 20–31