Simonetta Vespucci, a prominent figure of the Italian Renaissance, is believed to have been the model for several of Sandro Botticelli’s famous paintings. Traditionally thought to have died from tuberculosis at age 23 in 1476, recent research suggests a different cause. A study by art historians and medical experts proposes that Vespucci may have suffered from a pituitary adenoma, a type of brain tumor. This theory is based on subtle changes in her facial features across Botticelli’s paintings, which align with symptoms of the tumor. The researchers further suggest that her sudden death could have been due to pituitary tumor apoplexy, a medical emergency involving bleeding or swelling of the tumor. This explanation challenges the long-held belief that tuberculosis was the cause, offering a new perspective on her life and death.
QUESTION: How might understanding historical figures’ health through art change our perception of history?
550 years later, scientists claim to have solved what killed Botticelli’s muse
