Chapter 9 The late Work

the end of the century marked the beginning of the gradual decline of Botticelli's career as an artist. It seems barely imaginable today that his life as an artist did not end with his death, but with his retirement. 
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It was not uncommon for artist in the Renaissance to give up the production of art once they had reached old age...This applies, for instance, to Piero della Francesca, to Leonardo da Vinci and also to Sandro Botticelli, whose output dwindled around 1500, ten years before his death.