Three garbed figures c. 1470 - 1480

Sandro Botticelli produced this red chalk drawing of three garbed figures in Florence, during the late 15th or early 16th century. Drawings like this one were essential to workshop practice. They allowed Botticelli and his assistants to work out problems of composition, pose, and drapery, as well as practice the imitation of classical models. The loose, flowing lines and attention to the fall of light on the figures' robes are typical of the Florentine Renaissance style that Botticelli helped to define. Botticelli's patrons, the Medici family, were deeply invested in humanist scholarship and the revival of classical art, which had a deep influence on the work produced in their city. Drawings such as these are invaluable resources for art historians. They reveal the working methods of artists and give us insight into the values and concerns of their time. The institutions of artistic training, patronage, and collecting are central to understanding the production and reception of art in any period.