\paperw4095 \margr0\margl0 \plain \fs20 \f1 The picture was painted by Sandro Botticelli at the time when he came under the sway of the mysticism of Girolamo Savonarola, a friar
in the monastery of San Marco in Florence. Rejecting the aristocratic paganism that had characterized his earlier works, the Florentine artist started to paint compositions that were more simple, yet rich in dramatic emphasis.
