{
  "id": 14441076,
  "title": "New research on Botticelli's Venus supports diagnosis of death from a pituitary tumor",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/14/new-research-on-botticellis-venus-supports-diagnosis-of-death-from-a",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-10-14T11:40:02.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Medical Xpress",
    "slug": "medical-xpress",
    "url": "https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-botticelli-venus-diagnosis-death-pituitary.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "New research published in Medical Humanities supports the theory that Renaissance artist Sandro Botticelli's muse, Simonetta Vespucci, died at 23 from a pituitary tumor. The study, led by Paolo Pozzilli, examines Vespucci's portraits and finds evidence of swelling around her eyes, loose or folded tissue covering the white part of her eyes, and fluid swelling underneath. These features, combined with a squint in her portrait, suggest a large pituitary tumor may have led to pituitary apoplexy, an acute condition resulting in bleeding and death. Pozzilli, honorary professor of diabetes and clinical research at Queen Mary University of London, notes that Botticelli accurately depicted his subjects with great realism, and the findings support the original hypothesis that Vespucci's death was caused by the tumor rather than tuberculosis.",
  "summary": "New evidence supporting the theory that Botticelli's Venus died from a pituitary tumor has been published in Medical Humanities. It is the third in a series of papers led by Paolo Pozzilli, in which he set out research on the Renaissance aristocrat Simonetta Vespucci, Sandro Botticelli's muse, who died at 23 from suspected tuberculosis.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}