Sandro Botticelli was an Italian Renaissance painter born in Florence, Italy in 1445. He showed early artistic talent and was apprenticed to Fra Filippo Lippi at age 15. Botticelli gained fame for his paintings commissioned by the powerful Medici family in Florence, including "Primavera" and "The Birth of Venus." His works were characterized by their incorporation of classical mythology and religious symbolism. Botticelli lived most of his life in Florence and worked in the popular Renaissance styles of his time until falling out of favor in the late 15th century.