Botticelli’s famous Venus in the “Birth of Spring” bears the face of Simonetta Cattaneo Vespucci, mistress to the famous de’ Medici brothers (Guiliano and Lorenzo). Botticelli’s focus on ancient Classic mythology in the depiction of a naked Venus underlines the Renaissance’s focus on humanism and its departure from Christian themes. Interestingly, Botticelli later fell under the spell of Savonarola, a Dominican monk who led a violent four-year campaign to purge Florence of hedonism, which included burning pagan works of art. Botticelli had a nervous breakdown and thereafter painted only dark, religious scenes.