Sandro and Simonetta

by Richard Burns

A fictional account of the life of Botticelli. Against the teeming background of 15th-century Florence, with its narrow streets and open spaces, its palaces and slums, its loyalties and intrigues, this story recreates the love affair between Boticelli and Simonetta Vespucci.

220 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1992

About the author

Alias of Richard Berengarten

Reviews

[Sabina Puig · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un recorregut entre el relat històric i la ficció per la Florència del segle XV i les seves intrigues polítiques. Tot això seguint la carrera artística i les fantasies de Botticelli. Em quedo amb els seus quadres. La resta m'ha sobrat bastant.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

This 1992 novel brings to vivid life the artist Botticelli's experiences in late 15th century Florence, most of all his relationship with his immortal model & muse, Simonetta Vespucci...who dies before her time...& leaves the awkward artist ill-at-ease with his fame & well-short of his deserved fortune. In a series of flashbacks, the author fills-in many of the details of Florences's hectic & violent history from Lorenzo the Magnificent & the Medicis, through Savonarola's 'Bonfire of the Vanities' to the ravages of war, pestilence & religious & political conflicts. Burns shows a fine eye for telling details & an appreciation of art techniques & artists' lives as artisans not masters of their own fates.An enthralling & full-bodied depiction of a Renaissance artist's life which will make you want to view Botticelli's finest work on their tablets!

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

After reading this I think it's possible that Simonetta Vespucci had cystic fibrosis. It's odd to think that the woman made famous in Venus in a half-shell and in Primavera could have suffered with the same disease as I have. I looked it up on the Internet and Wikipedia says she had "pulmonary tuberculosis," but it seems quite possible to me that she had cf. Imagine that: the most beautiful woman who ever lived may have had cf. I just can't get my mind around it. I will need to read more about her.