Obsession (Sandro Botticelli)

Obsession. The desire for beauty is the path to God! "And Sandro drew so beautifully that even the most skillful masters were amazed." Giorgio Vasari.

— Maestro! — the assistant bowed respectfully, — Signor Vespucci is asking for you. He says it's urgent.

— Vespucci? — Botticelli turned away from the canvas, — let him in.

— Sandro, my friend! — a middle-aged man in rich clothes entered the workshop, — I am so glad to see you!

— Simon! — the artist smiled and embraced his friend, — I haven't seen you for a long time. What brings you to me?

— I have a small request for you, Sandro, — Vespucci smiled slyly, — my beautiful wife Simonetta wants you to paint her portrait.

— Simonetta? — Botticelli's heart skipped a beat, — the first beauty of Florence? I will be honored to paint her portrait.

— Excellent! — Vespucci clapped his hands, — she will come to your workshop tomorrow. And remember, Sandro, she is very capricious and demanding, so try to please her.

— I will do my best, Simon, — the artist smiled, — don't worry.

The next day, Simonetta Vespucci crossed the threshold of Sandro Botticelli's workshop. She was incredibly beautiful - tall, slender, with golden hair flowing down her shoulders, and huge, bottomless blue eyes. Botticelli was mesmerized by her beauty.

— Maestro! — Simonetta smiled, — my husband said you would paint my portrait. I hope you will capture my beauty in all its glory.

— I will try, Signora, — the artist bowed, — your beauty is worthy of the brush of the greatest masters.

Work on the portrait began. Simonetta posed for Botticelli for hours, and he, mesmerized by her beauty, transferred her features to the canvas. But it wasn't just a portrait. In her image, Botticelli saw something more - an ideal of female beauty, a divine revelation. He began to draw her not just as a woman, but as a goddess, as Venus, emerging from the foam of the sea.

Simonetta became an obsession for Botticelli. He drew her everywhere - in his paintings, in his sketches, in his thoughts. He could not think of anything else but her. He painted her as the Madonna, as Spring, as Venus. She became his muse, his inspiration, his curse.

— Sandro! — Lorenzo de' Medici, the ruler of Florence and Botticelli's patron, visited the artist's workshop, — I see you are obsessed with Simonetta Vespucci. Her face is everywhere - on all your recent paintings.

— She is the ideal of beauty, Lorenzo, — Botticelli sighed, — she is divine.

— Be careful, Sandro, — Medici warned him, — obsession can lead to madness. And don't forget that she is a married woman.

— I know, Lorenzo, — the artist bowed his head, — but I cannot help myself. She is my muse.

But the obsession ended tragically. Simonetta Vespucci died of consumption at the age of 23. Her death shocked all of Florence, but for Botticelli it was a real tragedy. He lost his muse, his inspiration, his meaning of life.

After Simonetta's death, Botticelli's paintings changed. The bright, joyful colors gave way to dark, gloomy tones. The faces of his Madonnas became sad and melancholic. He never forgot his Simonetta, and her image haunted him until the end of his days.

Many years later, when Sandro Botticelli was already an old man, a strange guest visited his workshop. It was a man in a black cloak with a sword.

— Maestro! — the guest smiled, — I know about your obsession with Simonetta Vespucci. I know how much you suffered after her death.

— Who are you? — Botticelli asked in surprise.

— You can call me Messire, — the guest replied, — I came to offer you a deal. I can return Simonetta to you. But in return, you must give up your talent, your art, your fame. You will become an ordinary person, but you will live a long and happy life with your beloved Simonetta.

— Give up my art? — Botticelli thought for a long time, looking at the paintings hanging on the walls of his workshop. In each of them, he saw the face of his beloved Simonetta.

— Yes, — Messire smiled, — you must make a choice. Art or love.

— I cannot give up my art, — the artist finally said, — it is my life, my soul. And Simonetta... she will forever remain in my paintings, immortal and beautiful.

— As you wish, Maestro, — Messire sighed and disappeared.

Sandro Botticelli died in poverty and obscurity, but his paintings, inspired by his obsession with Simonetta Vespucci, remained forever in the history of art, reminding the world of the great power of love and beauty. And according to his last wish, he was buried at the feet of his beloved Simonetta in the Church of Ognissanti in Florence.