AP: Sandro Botticelli, a Renaissance artist famous in his day for his quaint adherence to old-fashioned methods, is the focus of an exhibit at the Luxembourg Museum. Botticelli's insistence on using tempera, instead of then-modern oil paint, and other quirks, earned ridicule from his contemporaries and pushed his work into obscurity until the 19th century CE. Even in modern times, his works are seldom featured, and the most recent exhibition devoted solely to his work was over fifty years ago.

The Luxembourg Museum currently features such an exhibition, running through February 22, 2004. Botticelli was patroned by the powerful Medici family in Florence. In the late 15th century CE, the Medicis were falling from power, and Botticelli's work captures the essence of that world and the religious reforms that were occurring at the same time.

From March through July of 2004, the exhibition moves to the Strozzi Palace at Florence.