Portraits Bronzino

portrait of young man, c. 1550–55, london, national gallery

bronzino first received medici patronage in 1539, when 1 of many artists chosen execute elaborate decorations wedding of cosimo de medici eleonora di toledo, daughter of viceroy of naples. not long before became, , remained of career, official court painter of duke , court. portrait figures—often read static, elegant, , stylish exemplars of unemotional haughtiness , assurance—influenced course of european court portraiture century. these known paintings exist in many workshop versions , copies. in addition images of florentine elite, bronzino painted idealized portraits of poets dante (c. 1530, in washington, dc) , petrarch.

bronzino s best known works comprise aforementioned series of duke , duchess, cosimo , eleonora, , figures of court such bartolomeo panciatichi , wife lucrezia. these paintings, of duchess, known minute attention detail of costume, takes on personality of own in image @ right. here duchess pictured second son giovanni, died of malaria in 1562, along mother; sumptuous fabric of dress takes more space on canvas either of sitters. indeed, dress has been object of scholarly debate. elaborate gown has been rumored beloved duchess buried in it; when myth debunked, others suggested perhaps garment never existed @ , bronzino invented entire thing, perhaps working fabric swatch. in case, picture reproduced on , on bronzino , shop, becoming 1 of iconic images of duchess. version pictured here in uffizi gallery, , 1 of finest surviving examples.

bronzino s so-called allegorical portraits , such of genoese admiral, portrait of andrea doria neptune, less typical possibly more fascinating due peculiarity of placing publicly recognized personality in nude mythical figure. finally, in addition being painter, bronzino poet, , personal portraits perhaps of other literary figures such of friend poet laura battiferri.