Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi, better known as Botticelli, was born in Florence, Italy, in or around 1445. Winning a high-profile commission from the Florentine court, he was catapulted to notoriety as wealthy patrons—in particular the Medici family—hired him to create works that celebrated their lives. Botticelli embellished the walls of the Sistine Chapel with three frescoes, illustrated Dante's Divine Comedy, and painted both mythological and religious scenes. At just 6 × 6 inches, this affordable, compact yet attractive little book is illustrated throughout with page-filling reproductions in 80 color plates, from Adoration of the Kings (early 1470s) and The Birth of Venus (circa 1484) to late works from the turn of the 16th century, including a cycle of panels celebrating the life of Saint Zenobius.