Botticelli's Secret: The Lost Drawings and the Rediscovery of the Renaissance

by Joseph Luzzi

Some five hundred years ago, Sandro Botticelli, a painter of humble origin, created works of unearthly beauty. A star of Florence’s art world, he was commissioned by a member of the city’s powerful Medici family to execute a near-impossible project: to illustrate all one hundred cantos of The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri, the ultimate visual homage to that “divine” poet.


This sparked a gripping encounter between poet and artist, between the religious and the secular, between the earthly and the evanescent, recorded in exquisite drawings by Botticelli that now enchant audiences worldwide. Yet after a lifetime of creating masterpieces including Primavera and The Birth of Venus, Botticelli declined into poverty and obscurity. His Dante project remained unfinished. Then the drawings vanished for over four hundred years. The once famous Botticelli himself was forgotten.


The nineteenth-century rediscovery of Botticelli’s Dante drawings brought scholars and art lovers to their knees: this work embodied everything the Renaissance had come to mean. From Botticelli’s metaphorical rise from the dead in Victorian England to the emergence of eagle-eyed connoisseurs like Bernard Berenson and Herbert Horne in the early twentieth century, and even the rescue of precious art during World War II and the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the posthumous story of Botticelli’s Dante drawings is, if anything, even more dramatic than their creation.


A combination of artistic detective story and rich intellectual history, Botticelli’s Secret shows not only how the Renaissance came to life, but also how Botticelli’s art helped bring it about—and, most important, why we need the Renaissance and all that it stands for today.

Genres: History, Art, Nonfiction, Art History, Biography, Audiobook, Renaissance

332 pages, Hardcover

First published October 25, 2022

About the author

Bio: Joseph Luzzi

Joseph Luzzi (PhD, Yale) teaches Comparative Literature and Italian Studies at Bard College. His most recent book is Botticelli’s Secret: The Lost Drawings and the Rediscovery of the Renaissance (2022). He is also the author of Romantic Europe and the Ghost of Italy (2008), winner of the MLA’s Scaglione Prize for Italian Studies; A Cinema of Poetry: Aesthetics of the Italian Art Film (2014); My Two Italies (2014), a New York Times Editors’ Choice selection; In a Dark Wood: What Dante Taught Me About Grief, Healing, and the Mysteries of Love (2015), a Vanity Fair “Must-Read” selection that has been translated into multiple languages. Two forthcoming books include his new translation of Dante’s Vita Nuova; and his study Dante’s “Divine Comedy”: A Biography will appear in 2024. Luzzi’s public-facing writing has appeared in the New York Times, TLS, London Times, Los Angeles Times, American Scholar, Bookforum, the Chronicle of Higher Education, and elsewhere, and his awards include a Dante Society of America Essay Prize, National Humanities Center Fellowship, and Wallace Fellowship at Villa I Tatti. In 2022 Joseph received a National Endowment for the Humanities Public Scholars Award in support of his book project Brunelleschi’s Children: How a Renaissance Orphanage Saved 400,000 Lives and Reinvented Childhood.

Reviews

[Jolanta (knygupė) · Rating 3 out of 5]

2,9*

[Claudia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Basically it's a minor amount of history regarding the life of Dante and the life of Sandro Botticelli along with Florence and the Medici and the shift in focus that created the Renaissance as modern eyes view it. The "lost" drawings was a set of illustrations done at the artist's pace of Dante's Divine Comedy (or Divina Commedia in Italian).

Originally gifted around 1494 to Charles VIII of France after his invasion/conquest of Florence through it's travels through history being broken up as part went to Scotland and part went to Rome. Then German Berlin and surviving World War II amidst the articles stored in caverns only to be again pieced out between the East and West Berlin museums.

And so the illustrations faded from view and mind until the Cold War and an exhibition of the re-united drawings in 2000. Today, the Map of Hell - the most extensively illuminated piece is held by the Vatican - while the majority of the 92 pages are in Berlin.

An interesting bit of history. Certainly not as detailed regarding the history of Florence or any of the people noted as the focus is the illustrations. Some black-and-white copies are printed at the beginning of each chapter and one can easily see how - as Botticelli's got further from Hell into Purgatory towards Paradise - his work got more sparse. There was less going on or perhaps there was more as - perhaps - he was indicating that his imagination as well as the viewer's - could not conceptualize the beauty and glory of heaven. Perhaps.

Interesting book. Wish the color copy of the Map of Hell was a bit larger since it's size blurred most of the details that the artist included.

2022-242

[Mary Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Botticelli's Secret is a triumph. It is full of reveals about the life of Botticelli and other great artists of the era. The twists and turns of fortune, the Medicis, Dante and Plutarch-all woven in a very accessible story. The book is so much more than the central point of Botticelli's life. Don't miss this one...It is is stunning.

[Milanimal · Rating 3 out of 5]

A functional trip through Renaissance Florence into its own historiography. But for all its descriptions of Botticelli's Dante illustrations I'd rather have a picture book.

[Kristina · Rating 3 out of 5]

While interesting, I feel like this should have a different title; perhaps something related to Dante and his influence on the artist. Botticelli felt like a supporting character for much of the text. Yhe second portion of the book was also stronger than its opening. That being said, I did learn a great deal from this but wish it had been more focused at many points.

[Sebastian Gebski · Rating 2 out of 5]

So this is a New Yorker Best Book of 2022? Hmm, interesting ...

Long story short, I've struggled with "Botticelli's Secret" - I consider myself a history aficionado & there are few more interesting historical backgrounds than the Italian Renaissance, but I failed to fall in love with this book. It was nowhere as interesting as I'd expected, it failed to grip my attention - I've managed to get through (eventually), but I would not call it fun.

The "secret" is not as interesting as the author would like it perceived, the historical background is rather shallow, and there's more about Dante than Botticelli (in fact). After reading, I don't think I've learned something useful or had some particular fun.

Skip over.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful chronicle of the development of Botticelli's art, his interpretation of Dante's magnum opus, and the interrelations with the influential members of their Florentine society from the beginnings of the Renaissance into modern day. Luzzi doesn't dive too deep academically. But this accessibly good writing is enough to make you want to spend a year in Florence retracing every step.

[Desirae · Rating 5 out of 5]

The title of the book intrigued me, that's why I bought it. I was not sure what type of read it was going to be. Once I got started, I couldn't stop reading. What could have easily been an academically written book, I got something else, a story. A real, honest to goodness story. The author is an amazing storyteller who's writing covers the life and times of Dante and Botticelli, the social and political environment the wins and losses of each artist and how they connected through the century and a half difference in their timeliness. The author Luzzi does an excellent job in bringing the story through the centuries and examining the view of critics through the coming eras and those of modern art historians. Luzzi helped me understand the Renaissance, the importance of Dante through the ages and the appreciation of Botticelli's works. I look forward to reading anything else by this author.

[Edith · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 1/2 stars. A lot of literary and artistic history is crammed into this little book about the drawings Botticelli made to illustrate Dante's Divine Comedy. (Remarkably, almost 100 pages of the book's 332 are notes, glossary, timeline, and index.) Author Luzzi, though clearly a scholar, writes in a very lively and accessible style--almost too casual at times. The book deals with, not only Dante and Botticelli, but with why Botticelli's art in general, and the drawings in particular, were virtually forgotten for centuries (Vasari!), and how they were slowly rediscovered, chiefly in the 19th century.

The chief fault I find with the book is that, although there are full color plates and chapter heads are decorated with some of the Dante drawings, the illustrations are laughably small. For Botticelli's larger scale works, it was really necessary to resort to the internet to see the details being discussed, and it is nearly impossible to get a sense of the Dante drawings themselves. The color plate of the Map of Hell, the only one of the drawings that Botticelli completed in full color, is absurd--it looks like a pretty undifferentiated gray-green triangle. Ironically, Luzon's epilogue describes, when he actually gets to see the Map of Hell in the Vatican where it resides, how utterly impossible it is to completely grasp it from a reproduction. The dust jacket reveals more of the drawings, little as it is, than the internal materials.

Nonetheless, this is an excellent and interesting work, especially if you are interested in Dante and the enormous place he occupies in Florentine and Italian history, or in Botticelli, in Florence itself, or in how very peculiar art history can be. Very enjoyable.

[Leanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

French printmaker and painter Gustave Dore’s illustrations of the Divine Comedy are the more famous ones that we continue to think of today when we think of the poem….—but I have long loved the much older ones done by Botticelli—having especially admired the painting of Dante’s map of hell, now in Vatican Museum. I had no idea that the majority of the drawings were lost so shortly after Botticelli’s death, falling into obscurity for centuries as did Botticelli himself. They would be eventually rediscovered by a German art historian when he noticed them in a British aristocrat’s dusty collection. This would launch their rebirth in a story told wonderfully in Botticelli’s Secret: The Lost Drawings and the Rediscovery of the Renaissance, by Joseph Luzzi, professor of comparative literature at Bard College.

So what is the secret of the title? Well it is not indicating anything hidden away or dangerous (as I was imagining)_ but rather it means that according to Luzzi, the drawings were meant to be personal—not created for a patron but as part of Botticelli’s own study of the poem. Botticelli was a serious student of Dante’s poetry, studying with the humanist Landino as well as becoming friends with scholar Manetti. Given that he would become under the spell of Savanorola, it was interesting to read about his very serious and studious side—his paintings are so joyful, the artist himself so mysterious.

Medieval Christian Dante and Renaisance Botticelli~~

[dejah_thoris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read as an audiobook. I bought this on sale because it sounded like it might be good, and it did teach me a couple of things. The first is how much of a cultural impact Dante had in Florence. Everyone read him and adored him, which I don't think was mentioned when I read the Inferno in college. The second thing I learned was that the Botticelli drawings existed. They're magnificent, and not works that have been reproduced en masse. Granted, we'll never get to experience the beauty of seeing them in real life, but if you can access JSTOR Images they're (mostly) worth flipping through. (There are a few dull ones of Dante with someone surrounded by stars. Stick to the Inferno though and you won't be disappointed.)

[Luke V · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not an art historian... in fact, I depend completely on my wife for all art-related crossword clues... but I picked this book up on a whim and enjoyed it. Learning about the culture and politics of Florence in the 14th and 15th centuries, seeing and understanding the transition from medieval to Renaissance (and how the lines between them are not always clear), and then learning about Dante and Botticelli... all things I should probably know more about, but didn't until reading this book. Also interesting to see the disappearance of Botticelli from the annals of history, until his rediscovery in the 19th century, though this part wasn't quite as compelling to me. Lots of names in this book, but a very helpful index, timeline, and glossary in back.

[Richard Davies · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Botticelli’s Secret” is a very good read and a rich story. The book is surprisingly stimulating and fun as it takes the reader through Renaissance Florence, Italy's love of Dante, and the characters who helped restore Botticelli to fame and respect in the 19th and 20th centuries. If you've read The Divine Comedy and soaked up the delights of Florence while traveling in Italy, this book is very well worth your time.

[Clay Olmstead · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good; the author does a good job of re-creating Renaissance art culture and history, although it's hard to say anything new about that period. I got bogged down in the second half, about the trail of the works themselves - but that may be due to my own interests.

[Zac Curtis · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice mini history about Boticelli and the rediscovery of his works. Some interesting insight into the paintings, the time in which they were painted in Florence, other parts just not that interesting to me.

[Christina Dudley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful read for lovers of art history, Dante, and travel. Not only does Luzzi cover Dante's life, the golden (for art) Quattrocento Medici age, and Botticelli's history, but he goes on to trace the rise and fall and rise of artistic reputations through the present.

[Joshua Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

per guh

[Robert Reinhard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Numerous pleasures come from reading this brilliant story across more than 5 centuries of Botticelli's illustrations for Dante's Divine Comedy. Art/social/political/intellectual/biographical history of their creation, unusual fates, discovery, interpretations, near loss, importance and endangerment finally in the destructions and aftermaths of WWII are told with a focused mind about the meaning and relevance of great art - Botticelli's and Dante's. That focus always tied to the human contexts of art and its power to influence and guide the present at least for those open to appreciate it. It's also amazing to think how the role of the artist in 15th century Florence was so intertwined publicly and eventfully in the life of the whole society, including its major upheavals. The citizens and figures of Renaissance Florence leap out of the page. A stirring epilogue recounting the author's experience writing and researching this book at the Villa I Tatti glows with the emotions of a humanist who sees permanent beauty in these productions and also in his relations to other people.

[Cris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not that interesting or well written. It’s a fascinating subject but badly executed.

[Matt McCormick · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting story and a very good summary of early professional art history. Replete with a number of interesting characters. Luzzi did a fine job providing just enough information on each.

I very much enjoyed the idea of Florentine workers, like the donkey cart man, walking the streets and quoting Dante.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

The drawings were a "poem" in their own regard, and together they represented one of the most sustained and powerful interpretations--better, visions--of Dante's work ever created.

[Carla]

I enjoyed this rambling account of the rediscovery of Botticelli’s Dante project— which casually hops around from Dante to Vasari to Ruskin. I had not known that Botticelli’s reputation was once frayed, so a lot of the information was new. The epilogue, very touching.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was interesting how Botticelli's artwork made a comeback.
I won this book on Goodreads.

[Ruya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Title: Review of "Botticelli's Secret" by Joseph Luzzi

"Botticelli's Secret" by Joseph Luzzi is a meticulously researched book that provides extensive references and offers valuable insights into the cultural and historical context of Florence during the period of Lorenzo the Magnificent and Savonarola. The author's exploration of Dante and his work adds a pleasurable and educational dimension to the narrative.

Luzzi's attention to detail is commendable, and his portrayal of Florence's social and political dynamics allows readers to immerse themselves in the vibrant atmosphere of the Renaissance city. The book effectively captures the ebb and flow of Florence's cultural scene during the time when Botticelli was active.

However, one aspect that detracts from the book is the somewhat misleading title. There is no apparent secrecy surrounding Botticelli's drawings or illustrations of Dante's Inferno, and it may be an overstretch to assume that his entire artistic career revolved around this single work. These illustrations, as depicted in the book, come across as initial sketches rather than fully realized masterpieces.

Nonetheless, the book compensates for this with its detailed exploration of Dante and his literary contributions. Luzzi's insightful commentary on Dante's life and works serves as a highlight, sparking readers' interest in this influential figure and his writings.

While "Botticelli's Secret" may not delve as deeply into Botticelli's personal life as anticipated, it successfully provides a comprehensive account of the cultural climate in Florence, offering readers a broader understanding of the era. Luzzi's writing style keeps readers engaged and serves as a valuable educational resource.

In conclusion, "Botticelli's Secret" is a well-researched and informative book that sheds light on Florence's cultural and historical backdrop during the reign of Lorenzo the Magnificent and the period of Savonarola. While the title may mislead readers, the exploration of Dante and the rich depiction of Florence make this book a worthwhile read for those interested in Renaissance art and the vibrant tapestry of Italian history. I greatly enjoyed reading this book.

[Michael Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a rare book: art history, intellectual biography, detective story, and more. It’s the story of how Botticelli’s long-lost illustrations for Dante’s Divine Comedy were created, scattered, rediscovered, and restored to an honored place. But, honestly, it is so much more.

The narrative flows well and weaves together the volatile politics of Florence (especially the rise and fall of the Medici family and the thunder of Savonarola and his bonfires of the vanities), the art world supported by the Medici that produced Botticelli, and the literary journey of Dante’s Commedia from neglect to canonical status. Luzzi’s storytelling makes what could be dry scholarly details a pleasure to read.

The heart of the book is Botticelli’s drawings for each canto of the Divine Comedy. Luzzi traces their history from their dismemberment and dispersal, their rediscovery and reassembly, their time in Berlin, their surviving of World War II, and their modern praise.

The one drawback for me was Luzzi’s insistence on using every Italian name in full, sometimes making it harder to track recurring figures (and slowing the reading process down). An editorial hand would have (should have?) made for smoother reading. But, okay, it’s a small price to pay for the deep and rich world he reconstructs.

The greatest power of the book for me was the intellectual curiosity it stoked. When I finished it, I found myself searching for books on Pico della Mirandola, Giordano Bruno, Ruskin, the Pre-Raphaelites, and Lorenzo de’ Medici (actually the whole family). More importantly and surprisingly for me, it also provoked critical reflection on the Renaissance itself. What actually was it and what we have made of it? Much to ponder there – and a lot of good books on the subject from a critical standpoint.

This book is a well-executed combination of art, literature, and history. It left me not just educated but more curious than ever. That is the surest sign of a truly good book to me.

[Richard Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

On my first date with my wife many many years ago we went to the Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum in Boston, and I vividly remember seeing my first Botticelli there. The colors were stunning and the faces of the people were so much more human that I remember in other paintings from the same era. As Mr. Luzzi relates in one of his own experiences at the end of the book, seeing the actual painting makes a lasting impression that no reproduction could manage. I think that this is more true of Botticelli than of a lot of other artists. I have been a Botticelli fan ever since. It helps that I associate Botticelli's work with falling in love.

Before picking up this book, I had not known of Botticelli's illustrations of the Divine Comedy. It was interesting to learn about their creation and subsequent history. But most of this book is a rehash of the history of the art world in Renaissance Florence, which is already known to almost anyone with more than a passing interest in Renaissance art. You would pick up most of this on a short art visit to Florence supplemented by a little Wikipedia reading and then you would get to see an amazing amount of great art at the same time. So though this book had some nice tidbits and was an engaging read, it isn't great. You can get a better taste of Rennaissance Florence through Walter Isaacson's biography of Leonardo or from my favorite novel of Renaissance Italy George Eliot's Romola.

[Ray Campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read a book about a painting of Caravaggio's that was discovered in an Irish Monastery. The book was more of a mystery about how it got there with biography nicely woven in. Joseph Luzzi's book has a similar setup but takes a more scholarly bent and is not a mystery. Luzzi's book is an argument about the Renaissance and its significance. He argues that 19th century scholars created the idea and that it was an oversimplification. By telling the stories of some of the birth of Florence and the lives of several significant writers, artists and thinkers, he makes his point.

In the end, Luzzi comes back to Botticelli and the significance of his illustrations of Dante's Divine Comedy. However, he spends way more of the book on Dante and other writers of the time than Botticelli. It's not that this isn't a thoroughly enjoyable look at the Renaissance, but the packaging is misleading. The book sounds like the Caravaggio book, a charming mystery with the life of the great painter at its center. Luzzi's book puts the Medici family and Dante at the center of a study of the Renaissance with Botticelli as bookends.

[Eileen Carr · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe it was just bad luck: I tried to read this book after finishing an absolutely brilliant book--The Sunflowers Are Mine--by Martin Bailey. In comparison, this was a drab narrative that strained to make much of a set of underappreciated drawings by Botticelli.

It was a rambling account of their creation, provenance and "discovery." While it was clearly deeply researched (there were nearly 75 pages of notes), there were very few (and poor quality) reproductions of the works themselves. Those included were underwhelming, making it hard to care about them (let alone understand them). In fact, it was hard to figure out just how many drawing there were, how many survived and where they were collected. The "truth is out there" (as The X-Files always claimed) but in this book it's pretty hard to piece together.

Luzzi found at least some of these drawing like "heaven's own language," but also admits they are hard to appreciate in reproduction. Perhaps as a distraction, he embeds the tale of the drawings in wide-ranging reflections on the period itself. The result is a muddy, uninspiring book.

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Italian art is not a thing I know much about (nor is Dante), and having read The West by Naoise Mac Sweeney right before reading this probably did it a disservice as I'm now skeptical about things like "the Renaissance." It was informative about 14th and 15th century Florence, and the lives of Dante and Botticelli. The history of the drawings has some gaps, but they were found and identified in the 19th century so weren't as lost as the subtitle made it sound. They turned up at around the same time a bunch of English artists and critics were promoting Renaissance art, maybe they contributed to this but the paintings did more.
The reproductions of the drawings didn't really give a good idea of what they are like, and the epilogue alludes to how you can only really perceive a work of art in person.
The most interesting part for me was about Savonarola and the bonfire of the vanities, I knew the name but had no context.
I'm not sure what Botticelli's secret is - the drawings were never a secret. Is it that his drawings showed he was an interpreter of Dante? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Randy Kays · Rating 4 out of 5]

We went to Botticelli Drawings Exhibit at the the San Fransisco Legion of Honor. I wanted to know more, so I picked up this book (also reread "Lent" by Jo Walton). This book and the exhibit are only tangentially related. It is mostly about Sandro Botticelli's Illustrations for Dante's Divine Comedy. He does a good job of covering the Botticelli and the time/place he came from. Then he describes 19th century rediscovery, especially Botticelli's Dante. I enjoyed it quite a bit.

I listened to the Audio book, but quickly went to the Santa Clara Library and got the hard copy to look at the illustrations. The plates in the hard copy were OK, but not great. I ended up googling many of the images he talked about. Also, I will by borrowing "The Drawings by Sandro Botticelli for Dante's Divine Comedy" collected by Kenneth Clark and released in 1976.

The reader of the audio book had a very annoying approach to reading quotes, he would put on a fake accent for the character: fake Italian, fake French, fake German or fake British accent. Weird.