BRONZINO, Agnolo
(b. 1503, Firenze, d. 1572, Firenze)

Portrait of Lucrezia Panciatichi

c. 1540
Oil on wood, 102 x 85 cm
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

Lucrezia di Gismondo Pucci married in 1528 Bartolomeo Panciatichi, whose portrait was probably painted in pendant with this one about 1540. Bronzino describes her beautiful dress, enhancing her aristocratic dignity and her elegance: the long gold necklace the lady wears includes small plates where are legible the words "Sans fin amour dure", alluding to love and faithfulness.

As is typical of Bronzino's art, the lady is dressed sumptuously in warm pink satin and dark velvet. A book is held between her aristocratic hands and her severe, pure face is utterly devoid of any naturalistic beauty. The artist makes this lady of a refined and cultured Florentine society an idealized symbol of chaste beauty (note the delicately, but also chastely gathered hair) and high spirituality.

The portraits of Bartolomeo and Lucrezia Panciatichi mark the transition between the youthful style under the influence of Pontormo and that of the maturity of Bronzino as exemplified in his Medici portraits.