La Fortaleza
1470
Botticelli painted this striking figure of Fortitude for the Florence merchants' court in 1470, when he was just a young artist in his mid-twenties. She sits regally on an elaborate, jewel-encrusted throne, gripping a commander's baton with a look of serious, almost weary determination. Unlike the stiff, traditional figures of the time, her pose is relaxed yet powerful, showing off Botticelli's early genius for capturing human emotion and heavy, realistic drapery. This was actually his first major public commission, proving he was ready to take on the big leagues of Renaissance art and eventually paint the Birth of Venus!
Location: Uffizi Gallery, Florence
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