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In Botticelli’s painting, we can see the emergence of humanism in that it is atypical of most of the paintings before it and even of those during its era. It is atypical in that it shows a young man who is highly expressive in terms of psychology. The man is delicately posed, including a graceful tilt of his head. He illustrates a sidelong glance and his hand is posed in an elegant gesture. These elements of composition combine to make us unsure whether he is musing or equivocal in his psychological stance. We also see that Botticelli has combined both feminine and masculine elements in the painting, giving it an aura of tranquil but assured beauty. In the work we see the growing preoccupation with anatomy, as the explicit and sharp form of the portrait demonstrates. Such a method was achieved by Botticelli by creating sharp, pure outline
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