Botticelli and Caterina: A new interpretation
By Nigel Goodman
An exploration and analysis of the links between the Caterina images in the Sistine frescoes and female figures in the Botticelli mythologies. Nigel Goodman offers a new interpretation of these important paintings and provides a re-evaluation of Botticelli’s creative genius.
This new interpretation is based on the discovery that the Botticelli mythologies were commissioned by, or on behalf of, Caterina Sforza in Rome, and not by the Medici in Florence, as was widely believed.
As well as drawing attention to the heraldic artefacts of the Sforza, della Rovere and Riario families, which can be found in the mythologies, the book charts the background of Caterina Sforza, who was married to the favourite nephew of Sixtus IV. She was herself a favourite of the Pope, and is confirmed from this intriguing analysis as one of the most remarkable women of the Renaissance.