Botticelli (2015)

Saturday, May 20, 2023

Botticelli (2015)

Botticelli is a documentary film which premiered on French and German television (arte) in 2015.

The topic is the life and work of the famous Italian Renaissance artist Sandro Botticelli (1445-1510).

Here is some basic information about this film:

** Writer and director: Grit Lederer

** Narrator: Eva Mattes

** Language: German

** Subtitles: English

** Released on DVD in 2015

** Run time: 53 minutes

Several persons are interviewed in the film.

Here are the names of the participants:

The first group

** Frank Zöllner (born 1956) - professor of art history, University of Leipzig

** Michelle Elligott - Museum of Modern Art (MOMA), archives (New York)

** Antje Berghauser - picture editor at Cicero (a German magazine)

** Christoph Schwennicke - editor-in-chief at Cicero

** Carlo Chiti - a framemaker (Florence)

The second group

** Marzia Faietti - Galleria degli Uffizi, Design & Stamps (Florence)

** Horst Bredekamp - an art historian

** Michael Jouquin Grey - an artist

** Laurent Allias - Josiane (an agency in Paris)

** ORLAN - an artist (who always writes her name with capital letters)

The third group

** Youssef Nabil - an artist

** Ruben Rebmann - the Picture Gallery (Berlin)

** Dagmar Korbacher - the Copper Engraving Cabinet (Berlin)

** Blek le Rat - an artist

Grit Lederer (writer and director) begins her account in Florence (Firenze), Italy, where Botticelli was born and raised. He lived in this city for most of his life. He was buried there as well. But after this introduction, she moves on to other locations:

** Paris, France

** Berlin, Germany

** New York, the US

Grit Lederer does not cover all the works made by Botticelli. She does not offer a long list of paintings. This would not be helpful.

Instead, she focuses on a few significant works – paintings as well as drawings – and presents them in great detail.

First, she explains how Botticelli’s work was received and understood in his own time. Having done this, she turns to his legacy.

She explains how he is received and understood today, more than five hundred years after his death. In this way she demonstrates why he is regarded as an important artist, why he is regarded as a great artist.

What do reviewers say about this film?

On IMDb it has a rating of 64 per cent, which corresponds to 3.2 stars on Amazon.

If you ask me, this average rating is too low. I want to go all the way to the top with this product. I think it deserves a rating of five stars (100 percent).

If you are interested in the history of art - in particular the art of the Italian Renaissance - this film is definitely something for you.

REFERENCES

# 1. Books

Botticelli

by Frank Zöllner

(German version, 2005)

(English version, 2015)

(Published by Prestel)

(Hardcover, large format)

Botticelli

by Barbara Deimling

(English version, 2014)