Born of the waves
Or should it be Simonetta Cattaneo, her maiden name? Born into the nobility, she likely hailed from the Genoa region. The Florentine poet Angelo Poliziano wrote that her home “lay in that rugged Ligurian region high above the coast, where the raging Neptune pounds against the rocks … There, just like Venus, she was born from the waves.” More on her connection to Venus later.
Around 1469, she moved to Florence with her husband Marco Vespucci, a distant cousin of the explorer Amerigo Vespucci, after whom the American continent was named. At the time, Simonetta was barely sixteen years old, but it was soon rumoured that she was the most beautiful woman of her age. A status she probably owed to her striking golden-blonde curls, dreamy gaze, delicate nose, and full lips. Her beauty caught the attention of artists, poets, and those in power. In a city where art and influence went hand in hand, Vespucci became a true phenomenon – widely admired, celebrated in verse, and immortalized in paint.
Simonetta posed for various artists, including Sandro Botticelli and Piero di Cosimo, the latter of whom even depicted her as Cleopatra. She also inspired poets such as Luigi Pulci and Lorenzo de’ Medici. Simonetta was a much-coveted figure among the Florentine elite. Giuliano de’ Medici, Lorenzo’s brother, adoringly called her La Sans Pareille, ‘the unrivalled’. Yet her most devoted admirer seems to have been Botticelli …
Like Venus
To Sandro Botticelli, Simonetta Vespucci was more than a model – she became an ideal. Although she did indeed pose for him, her role changed dramatically following her early death. When Simonetta died at the age of twenty-two – long attributed to tuberculosis but possibly caused by a hormone-producing pituitary tumour – she became an unattainable muse. Interestingly, certain researchers believe that traces of this condition are visible in her alleged portraits.
Vespucci thus became a source of inspiration that transcended the boundaries of the earthly realm. Many of Botticelli’s female figures resemble Simonetta. The Birth of Venus (1485) is perhaps the most famous example. Housed in the Uffizi, this iconic painting shows the goddess of love emerging from a shell, a symbol of beauty, devotion and rebirth. The figure of Venus transcends human sensuality and embodies an almost divine purity.
Tradition holds that Botticelli’s Venus was inspired by Simonetta Vespucci. Remarkably, the painter only completed the work some ten years after her death. Simonetta was therefore no longer modelling as herself, but for an idea: beauty as a timeless and untouchable concept. While art historians continue to debate whether Vespucci and Venus are one and the same, the similarities with well-known portraits of Simonetta are certainly striking.
Buried beside Botticelli
Simonetta’s influence extends beyond a single painting. We recognize her distinctive features in other works as well, such as La Primavera [Spring]. She became a symbol of feminine beauty. Her early death lent her an almost mythical status: a muse too beautiful for this world. All of Florence is said to have mourned her loss for a month.
The bond between Botticelli and his muse endured even after their deaths. According to tradition, the painter asked to be buried at her feet. Today, he indeed rests beside her in the Chiesa di Ognissanti in Florence. Simonetta Vespucci lives on not only in stories, but in images that have stood the test of time. She is not merely a face from the past, but an enduring embodiment of beauty itself.
The work in the exhibition, Allegorical Portrait of a Woman, is attributed to Botticelli. Do we see Simonetta Vespucci in the portrait? That, too, remains something of a mystery. Be sure to admire this stunningly beautiful portrait in Bellezza e Bruttezza until 14 June.
