An exhibition of just one painting is on at the Marubeni Gallery on the third floor of the Marubeni head office next to the Palaceside Building. "The Beautiful Simonetta," a special show presenting the only Botticelli work in Japan in the Marubeni collection, is the third opening exhibition of the gallery, which opened last November. A giant "Beautiful Simonetta" has appeared beside the reception on the first floor of the Marubeni building to promote the show. It runs through January 31 next year.
Sandro Botticelli (1445–1510) was a Renaissance master active in Florence; his masterpieces include "Primavera" and "The Birth of Venus." "The Beautiful Simonetta" (tempera) is a piece Marubeni acquired in 1969. The model is said to have been a real woman called a beauty without peer; her dignified loveliness and enigmatic air have been compared to Leonardo's "Mona Lisa."
The exhibition explores the work from many angles — Simonetta's life as she approaches the 570th anniversary of her birth on January 28 next year, the painting's provenance and comparisons with other portraits of her. Admission is 500 yen for adults (high school students and younger free). Closed Sundays, holidays and over the year-end and New Year (December 29–January 3).