Born in Florence around 1445, Botticelli was apprenticed to the painter Fra Lippo Lippi around 1461. It was from Lippi that Botticelli learned the art of graceful figures and intimate compositions. Lippi was so influential for Botticelli that it is often difficult to distinguish between them. After leaving Lippi’s workshop, Botticelli may have entered the workshop of Andrea del Verrocchio or the Pollaiuolo brothers before beginning his own career as an independent artist.