0:00:13.909,0:00:16.685
Around 1469, a wealthy money changer commissioned

0:00:16.685,0:00:18.547
a young painter named Sandro Botticelli

0:00:18.547,0:00:19.883
to paint an altar piece.

0:00:19.883,0:00:21.385
Botticelli would, of course, become known

0:00:21.385,0:00:23.560
as one of the greatest painters of the High Renaissance,

0:00:23.560,0:00:25.179
producing works like "La Primavera"

0:00:25.179,0:00:26.614
and "The Birth of Venus."

0:00:26.614,0:00:30.393
But, in 1469, he had not yet earned this reputation.

0:00:30.393,0:00:32.986
The scene this young artist set out to paint was well-known:

0:00:32.986,0:00:34.822
the Three Wise Men, or Magi,

0:00:34.822,0:00:37.268
arriving at the birth place of Jesus Christ.

0:00:37.268,0:00:39.482
Botticelli would aspire to take this common theme

0:00:39.482,0:00:41.656
and produce an entirely original work,

0:00:41.656,0:00:42.578
while asserting himself

0:00:42.578,0:00:45.199
among the most important citizens of Florence.

0:00:45.199,0:00:47.289
Many earlier paintings illustrate the Magi

0:00:47.289,0:00:49.412
arriving at a stable, stately manger,

0:00:49.412,0:00:50.945
fitting for the son of God.

0:00:50.945,0:00:52.752
The young Botticelli, however, chose

0:00:52.752,0:00:55.669
to place the scene in the dilapidated Roman ruin.

0:00:55.669,0:00:56.923
At the center of this structure,

0:00:56.923,0:00:58.925
he placed a sturdy rock for Mary and Jesus

0:00:58.925,0:01:00.761
to sit high above their visitors.

0:01:00.761,0:01:02.903
With this decision, Botticelli seemed to say

0:01:02.903,0:01:05.794
Christianity will be built on sturdier stuff than Rome.

0:01:05.794,0:01:07.761
Botticelli then populated the space

0:01:07.761,0:01:09.394
with important men from his city.

0:01:09.394,0:01:10.612
On the right side, he paints the man

0:01:10.612,0:01:12.917
who paid for this work, Gaspare del Lama,

0:01:12.917,0:01:14.035
looking out at the viewer

0:01:14.035,0:01:15.560
and confidently pointing at himself

0:01:15.560,0:01:16.604
so that there is no question

0:01:16.604,0:01:18.703
who is responsible for this masterpiece.

0:01:18.703,0:01:20.263
Though born the son of a barber,

0:01:20.263,0:01:22.068
del Lama amassed a good sum of money

0:01:22.068,0:01:24.327
through currency exchange in his lifetime.

0:01:24.327,0:01:26.161
He earned enough money to buy a burial chapel

0:01:26.161,0:01:28.203
and decorate it with a pretty painting.

0:01:28.203,0:01:30.415
The Three Wise Men appear at the center of this painting,

0:01:30.415,0:01:31.917
kneeling to Mary and Jesus.

0:01:31.917,0:01:33.626
As models for these important figures,

0:01:33.626,0:01:36.831
Botticelli used members of the important Medici family.

0:01:36.831,0:01:38.407
Del Lama's career as a money changer

0:01:38.407,0:01:39.509
would not have been possible

0:01:39.509,0:01:41.353
without the help of the powerful Medici family,

0:01:41.353,0:01:43.335
in particular Cosimo de' Medici,

0:01:43.335,0:01:45.387
who appears prominently at Mary's feet.

0:01:45.387,0:01:47.009
The other wise men can be identified

0:01:47.009,0:01:49.143
as Piero and Giovanni de' Medici,

0:01:49.143,0:01:50.646
Cosimo's two sons.

0:01:50.646,0:01:51.936
The business of money exchange

0:01:51.936,0:01:54.605
had dubious ethical and legal associations,

0:01:54.605,0:01:57.193
so the friendship of this powerful family was important.

0:01:57.193,0:01:59.445
And the young heir to Medici power, Lorenzo,

0:01:59.445,0:02:02.241
could not be omitted from this painting's composition.

0:02:02.241,0:02:04.303
He appears to the left of the manger.

0:02:04.303,0:02:05.981
This painting seems to say

0:02:05.981,0:02:08.308
the Medici legacy, with its many healthy heirs,

0:02:08.308,0:02:10.976
will be built on sturdier stuff than Rome.

0:02:10.976,0:02:12.648
Botticelli then filled the rest of the space

0:02:12.648,0:02:15.149
with other friends and powerful figures from Florence.

0:02:15.149,0:02:16.683
And, among the Florentine elite,

0:02:16.683,0:02:18.732
the young, confident artist painted himself

0:02:18.732,0:02:20.527
looking directly at the viewer.

0:02:20.527,0:02:22.196
Botticelli's presence in this painting

0:02:22.196,0:02:24.031
illustrates a radical shift in the perception

0:02:24.031,0:02:26.097
of artists during this time period.

0:02:26.097,0:02:27.768
Botticelli did not view himself

0:02:27.768,0:02:30.178
as a common craftsman hired for a simple job.

0:02:30.178,0:02:31.416
He viewed himself as a friend

0:02:31.416,0:02:33.697
to the powerful families of Florence.

0:02:33.697,0:02:35.629
Paintings like "The Adoration of the Magi"

0:02:35.629,0:02:38.601
reveal much more than a simple retelling of a biblical story.

0:02:38.601,0:02:40.878
They can tell the story of, among other things,

0:02:40.878,0:02:42.633
a modestly-born money changer

0:02:42.633,0:02:44.552
attempting to spend his money virtuously

0:02:44.552,0:02:46.899
by making a local chapel more beautiful,

0:02:46.899,0:02:48.722
or the story of an ambitious young painter,

0:02:48.722,0:02:50.349
elevating the reputation of his craft

0:02:50.349,0:02:53.832
to stand among the wealthy elite of his city.