Sandro Botticelli painted The Birth of Venus and Primavera, two of the most recognized images in Western art, and then spent three centuries almost completely forgotten. His reputation collapsed after his death, his paintings gathered dust in storage, and it took the Pre-Raphaelites and a ninety-million-dollar auction to bring him back from obscurity.

This episode traces Botticelli from his apprenticeship in Florence through the Medici court, the influence of Savonarola, and the remarkable posthumous resurrection that turned a forgotten painter into one of the most valuable artists in history.

• His painting Young Man Holding a Roundel sold for over ninety-two million dollars at auction in 2021
• The Birth of Venus and Primavera are among the most reproduced and recognized paintings in Western art
• He was largely forgotten for three centuries after his death, rediscovered only in the nineteenth century by the Pre-Raphaelites
• He reportedly burned some of his own paintings under the influence of the fanatical preacher Savonarola