Portraits of the Medici
by Agnolo BRONZINO

Bronzino was the best portrayer of the frozen, rigid etiquette of the Grand Duke's court in Florence. His career is interwoven with the history of Mannerism. on which he left his own mark. He happily established himself as the official painter of the Grand Duchy and as the enigmatic stylist of a small circle of cultured aristocrats. Bronzino was first Pontormo's pupil and then for many years his close assistant. With his master he took part in many important jobs in Florence in the 1520s (frescos in the Galluzzo Charter House and decorating the Capponi Chapel in S. Felicitŕ). In 1530 he was summoned to the della Rovere court in the Marches and it was there that he began to paint portraits. It was not long before his outstanding talent in this direction became clear and he started to develop his own style, quite distinct from that of Pontormo. In fact, in addition to his master's almost maniacal insistence on accurate drawing, Bronzino added his own very personal use of colour which he applied in a clear and compact fashion that almost gave the effect of varnish.

The firm and glacial way that Bronzino draws outline and detail makes his portraits quite unmistakable. At the same time they possess an almost arrogant grandeur. This leads to a sense of immobile and timeless refinement.

Preview Picture Data Info
Alessandro de' Medici
1555-65
Oil on tin, 15 x 12 cm
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence


Portrait of Bia de' Medici
c. 1542
Oil on wood, 63 x 48 cm
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence


Cosimo I de' Medici in Armour
1545
Oil on wood, 74 x 58 cm
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence


Cosimo I de' Medici in Armour
c. 1550
Oil on wood, 114 x 89 cm
Museo degli Argenti, Florence


Portrait of Cosimo I de' Medici in Armour
c. 1545
Oil on poplar wood, 118 x 99 cm
Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney


Cosimo I de' Medici as Orpheus
1537-39
Oil on panel, 94 x 76 cm
Museum of Art, Philadelphia


Portrait of Cosimo I de' Medici
1537
Oil on canvas, 118 x 88 cm
The Hermitage, St. Petersburg


Eleonora di Toledo with her son Giovanni de' Medici
1544-45
Oil on wood, 115 x 96 cm
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence


Eleonora di Toledo
1543
Oil on wood, 59 x 46 cm
Národní Galerie, Prague


Portrait of Eleanora di Toledo
c. 1560
Oil on panel, 86 x 65 cm
National Gallery of Art, Washington


The Ailing Eleonora di Toledo
1556
Oil on wood, diameter 75 cm
Museo Bardini, Florence


Portrait of Francesco I de' Medici
1551
Tempera on wood, 58,5 x 41,5 cm
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence


Ferdinando de' Medici
1555-65
Oil on tin, 15 x 12 cm
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence


Portrait of Giovanni de' Medici as a Child
1545
Tempera on wood, 58 x 45,6 cm
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence


Don Garcia de' Medici
c. 1550
Oil on panel, 48 x 38 cm
Museo del Prado, Madrid


Garcia de' Medici
1555-65
Oil on tin, 15 x 12 cm
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence


Isabella de Medici
1552-53
Oil on wood
Nationalmuseum, Stockholm


Lucrezia di Cosimo
1555-65
Oil on tin, 15 x 12 cm
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence


Portrait of Maria de' Medici
1551
Tempera on wood, 53 x 38 cm
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence



Summary of paintings by Bronzino
| Medici portraits | other portraits | religious | Cappella di Eleonora | allegories |



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