Simonetta Vespucci
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Simonetta Cattaneo de Vespucci (nicknamed la bella Simonetta; ca. 1453 – April 26 1476) was the wife of the Italian nobleman Marco Vespucci of Florence. She also is alleged to have been the mistress of Giuliano de' Medici, Lorenzo the Magnificent's younger brother. She was renowned for being the greatest beauty of her age - certainly of the city of Florence - and she is believed to have been the model for Venus in Botticelli's The Birth of Venus as well as the model for several other women in his paintings. She also is depicted in Piero di Cosimo's paintings Portrait of Simonetta Vespucci, in which she is portrayed as Cleopatra with an asp around her neck, and The Death of Procris. Countless poems and canvasses by many other painters were also created in her honor.