The Extraction of the Heart of St. Ignatius - Sandro Botticelli
Archival giclée
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Description
A detailed predella panel by Sandro Botticelli depicting the legendary extraction of the heart of St. Ignatius, originally from the San Barnaba Altarpiece.
This work is a predella panel, originally forming part of the base of the San Barnaba Altarpiece commissioned for the church of San Barnaba in Florence. Sandro Botticelli, a master of the Florentine school, executed this small-scale narrative scene with the precision characteristic of his late fifteenth-century output. The subject depicts the legendary post-mortem extraction of the heart of St. Ignatius of Antioch, a narrative element often included in hagiographic cycles to demonstrate the saint's devotion. Botticelli employs a compressed spatial arrangement, typical of predella paintings designed to be viewed at close range. The figures are positioned against a dark, neutral background, which directs the viewer's attention to the central action. The saint lies recumbent upon a draped bier, his form rendered with a linear clarity that defines the folds of his vestments and the contours of his features. Two figures attend to the body, their gestures precise and measured. The artist uses a balanced palette, employing muted earth tones alongside the distinct reds and yellows of the attendants' garments, which provides a visual rhythm across the horizontal composition. Unlike his larger mythological canvases, this panel demonstrates Botticelli's ability to manage complex theological narratives within a restricted format. The anatomical treatment of the figures and the careful handling of the drapery reflect the technical standards of the period. The work remains a clear example of the devotional art produced for Florentine ecclesiastical settings, where narrative clarity and symbolic representation were primary objectives. The painting provides insight into the workshop practices of the time, where assistants often contributed to the execution of secondary panels under the supervision of the master. This specific panel is now housed within the collection of the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, where it continues to be studied for its role in the broader iconographic programme of the San Barnaba Altarpiece.
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Each print is produced to order using 12-colour giclée printing on FSC-certified archival paper. Designed in Britain and printed at your nearest production hub to reduce waste and speed up delivery.
The Extraction of the Heart of St. Ignatius - Sandro Botticelli
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Specific Features
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- Museum-grade giclée printing for rich, fade-resistant colour
- Archival matte fine-art paper, FSC-certified
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- Frames in black, natural wood, dark wood or white
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- Dust gently with a soft, dry cloth
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Materials & Sizing
Museum-grade giclée on FSC-certified archival matte paper, with framed and canvas options.
- Paper sizes: A4, A3, A2, A1, A0 and B2 (50×70 cm)
- Canvas: XS (20×30 cm) to Large (60×90 cm)
- Frames: black, natural wood, dark wood or white
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Artist Biography
Sandro Botticelli
He worked in Florence under the patronage of the Medici family during the period art historians call the Early Renaissance. The Birth of Venus and Primavera, both painted in the 1480s, are his best-known works and among the most reproduced images in Western art. They are strange paintings. Venus stands on a shell, blown to shore by the wind, her body curved in a way that owes nothing to anatomical reality and everything to Gothic line. Primavera fills a dark orange grove with mythological figures whose feet barely touch the ground.
The paintings are technically tempera on canvas and panel, executed with a fineness of line that reflects his goldsmith training. The outlines are visible. The surfaces are flat compared to the oil-based modelling that Leonardo and other contemporaries were developing. Botticelli was not interested in three-dimensional illusion. He was interested in contour, pattern, and the way a line can describe both a body and an emotion simultaneously.
His later career was affected by the rise of the Dominican friar Girolamo Savonarola, who preached against secular art and luxury. Botticelli may have burned some of his own paintings in the Bonfire of the Vanities in 1497. Whether this represents genuine religious conversion or political self-preservation is unclear. His output declined. He died in 1510, largely forgotten, and was not rediscovered until the Pre-Raphaelites championed him in the nineteenth century.
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