Allegory of Happiness

Allegory of Happiness (1567) by Bronzino

Allegory of Happiness is an oil-on-copper painting by the Italian Mannerist painter Bronzino, probably first produced for the Studiolo of Francesco I, signed BROZ. FAC. and now in the Uffizi in Florence. ^{[1] [2] [3] [4]} It is now in a fluted and gilded 17th-century wooden frame. ^[5] Most art historians date it to around 1567, and it is first mentioned in the Uffizi inventory in 1635/8. ^{[6] [7]}

Iconography

Happiness is represented as a young woman with a cornucopia and caduceus in the centre of the painting with Cupid as a girl, representing love. ^[8] Prudence and Justice stand on either side of her, whilst the conquered enemies of peace and Fortune, with her wheel, lie at her feet. ^{[9] [10]} Graham Smith argues that this ideal state of happiness is Florence, and that it celebrates Cosimo I for the great public well-being of the time. ^[11]

References

1. Numero inventario: 1543.
2. "Uffizi catalogue entry" (in Italian).
3. Luciano Berti, Il Principe dello Studiolo, Firenze, Maschietto Editore, 2002.
4. Gallerie degli Uffizi, Gli Uffizi: Catalogo generale, Firenze, Centro Di, 1980, p. 190 [1979], SBN IT\ICCU\RAV\0060995.
5. Edi Baccheschi (ed), L'opera completa del Bronzino introdotta da scritti del pittore, Milano, Rizzoli, 1999, n. 125, SBN IT\ICCU\UBO\1475918.
6. Andrea Emiliani, Il Bronzino; con un'antologia poetica scelta e presentata da Giorgio Cerboni Baiardi, Busto Arsizio, Bramante, 1960, SBN IT\ICCU\SBL\0517132, tav. 96
7. "Allegoria della Felicità :: Agnolo Bronzino ► 1503-1572". Virtual Uffizi Gallery. Retrieved 2021-02-05.
8. "Allegory of Happiness by BRONZINO, Agnolo". www.wga.hu. Retrieved 2021-02-05.
9. "Allegory of Happiness by BRONZINO, Agnolo". www.wga.hu. Retrieved 2021-02-05.
10. Smith, Graham (1984). "Bronzino's Allegory of Happiness" . The Art Bulletin. 66 (3): 390–399. doi:10.2307/3050442. ISSN   0004-3079. JSTOR   3050442.
11. Smith, Graham (1984). "Bronzino's Allegory of Happiness" . The Art Bulletin. 66 (3): 390–399. doi:10.2307/3050442. ISSN   0004-3079. JSTOR   3050442.