Which early paintings show Sandro Botticelli’s developing style?

Sandro Botticelli’s early artistic development is marked by a transition from the delicate, linear style of his teacher, Filippo Lippi, toward a more robust and sculptural approach influenced by Antonio Pollaiuolo and Andrea del Verrocchio.1

Key early works that illustrate this stylistic evolution include:

• Judith with the Head of Holofernes (c. 1469–70) and Discovery of Holofernes’ Body (1470): These small panels demonstrate his move away from Lippi’s pallor toward a warmer, brown-toned flesh palette using ocher.1
• Fortitude (1470): As his first dated work, this painting showcases his growing ability to define forms with incisive, flowing lines and his capacity to convey mood through pose and facial expression.1
• Adoration of the Magi (c. 1470–75): This work, commissioned for the Church of Santa Maria Novella, represents his early mastery of the tondo format, where he began to harmonize figures within circular compositions.2

These pieces reflect his shift toward a more vigorous naturalism and sculptural strength, setting the stage for his artistic maturity by the late 1470s.1