became increasingly vague as he attained a completely personal language" (Salvini, Encyclopedia of World Art, 1960, p. 582). The uniqueness of Botticelli's approach to style can be seen in the Madonna and Child with Adoring Angel.
The form of this work is focused on Botticelli's unique use of linear elements. An emphasis on the use of line is an important aspect in all of Botticelli's work. In this, the artist was strongly influenced by Pollaiuolo and his other contemporaries. However, in contrast with these other artists, Botticelli's use of the line is "lighter, purer, and develops a more poetic liberty" (Chastel, 1963, p. 209). In terms of composition, Botticelli was concerned with using linear elements in order to create "unity of the image" in his paintings (Argan, 1957, p. 52). Keller has claimed that the pictorial composition of Botticelli's early works often centers around "vertically oriented blocks of figures" (p. 114).
In the Madonna and child with Adoring Angel, this vertical emphasis can be seen in the straight line which is formed by the positioning of the angel, child and mother. The background of the painting does not detract from this linear feeling, but rather enhances it. Thus, the arrangement of the shapes in the background building (especially the archway) serves to frame the subjects of the work. The building, as well as the landscape which is visible beyond the archway, do not sharply recede in a spatial perspective. Rather, in
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