SUSTERMANS, Justus
(b. 1597, Antwerpen, d. 1681, Firenze)

Portrait of Margherita de' Medici

c. 1628
Oil on canvas, 187 x 115 cm
Galleria Palatina (Palazzo Pitti), Florence

In a pious masquerade, Margherita, a daughter of Cosimo II de' Medici and Maria Maddalena of Austria, posed as her name saint, Margaret. Margaret was of noble birth, so Margherita's rich fabrics and sophisticated colour combinations were perfectly in order.