Alessandro di Cristofano di Lorenzo del Bronzino Allori was an Italian painter of the late Mannerist Florentine school.
The House of Medici was an Italian banking family and political dynasty that first consolidated power in the Republic of Florence under Cosimo de' Medici and his grandson Lorenzo "the Magnificent" during the first half of the 15th century. The family originated in the Mugello region of Tuscany, and prospered gradually in trade until it was able to fund the Medici Bank. This bank was the largest in Europe in the 1400s and facilitated the Medicis' rise to political power in Florence, although they officially remained citizens rather than monarchs until the 16th century.
Cosimo I de' Medici was the second and last duke of Florence from 1537 until 1569, when he became the first grand duke of Tuscany, a title he held until his death. Cosimo I succeeded his cousin to the duchy. He built the Uffizi (office) to organize his administration, and conquered Siena to consolidate Florence's rule in Tuscany. He expanded the Pitti Palace and most of the Boboli Gardens were also laid out during his reign.
The Palazzo Vecchio is the town hall of Florence, Italy. It overlooks the Piazza della Signoria, which holds a copy of Michelangelo's David statue, and the gallery of statues in the adjacent Loggia dei Lanzi.
Agnolo di Cosimo, usually known as Bronzino or Agnolo Bronzino, was an Italian Mannerist painter from Florence. His sobriquet, Bronzino, may refer to his relatively dark skin or reddish hair.
Francesco I was the second Grand Duke of Tuscany, ruling from 1574 until his death in 1587. He was a member of the House of Medici.
Eleanor of Toledo was a Spanish noblewoman who became Grand Duchess of Florence as the first wife of Cosimo I de' Medici. A keen businesswoman, she financed many of her husband's political campaigns and important buildings like the Pitti Palace. She ruled as regent of Florence during his frequent absences: Eleanor ruled during Cosimo's military campaigns in Genoa in 1541 and 1543, his illness from 1544 to 1545, and again at times during the war for the conquest of Siena (1551–1554). She founded many Jesuit churches. She is credited with being the first modern first lady or consort.
Fashion in the period 1500–1550 in Europe is marked by very thick, big and voluminous clothing worn in an abundance of layers. Contrasting fabrics, slashes, embroidery, applied trims, and other forms of surface ornamentation became prominent. The tall, narrow lines of the late Medieval period were replaced with a wide silhouette, conical for women with breadth at the hips and broadly square for men with width at the shoulders. Sleeves were a center of attention, and were puffed, slashed, cuffed, and turned back to reveal contrasting linings.
Francesco d'Ubertino Verdi, called Bachiacca. He is also known as Francesco Ubertini, il Bacchiacca (1494–1557). He was an Italian painter of the Renaissance whose work is characteristic of the Florentine Mannerist style.
Lucrezia de' Medici was a member of the House of Medici and by marriage Duchess consort of Ferrara, Modena and Reggio from 1558 to 1561.
The Deposition of Christ is a painting by the Italian artist Agnolo di Cosimo, known as Bronzino, completed in 1545. It is housed in the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Besançon, France. A copy by Bronzino can be found in the Palazzo Vecchio. This portrayal of the Deposition, although it depicts all the characters typically shown when Jesus is being taken down from the cross, more correctly should be characterized as a Lamentation and is an excellent example of late Mannerism or Maniera.
The Crossing of the Red Sea, also known as The Crossing of the Red Sea and Moses Appointing Joshua, is a fresco painting by the Italian artist Agnolo di Cosimo, known as Bronzino, finished in 1542. It depicts the Israelites crossing the Red Sea from the book of Exodus and Moses commissioning Joshua to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land from the book of Numbers. It is housed in the Palazzo Vecchio, Florence.
Events from the year 1545 in art.
Maria de' Medici was the eldest child of Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany and Eleonora di Toledo. She was a member of the famous Medici family.
Eleanor de' Medici was a Duchess of Mantua by marriage to Vincenzo I Gonzaga. She served as regent of Mantua 1595, 1597 and 1601, when Vincenzo served in the Austrian campaign in Hungary, and in 1602, when he left for Flanders for medical treatment. She was a daughter of Francesco I de' Medici and Joanna of Austria and the sister of Marie de' Medici, Queen of France.
Maria Salviati was a Florentine noblewoman, the daughter of Lucrezia di Lorenzo de' Medici and Jacopo Salviati. She married Giovanni delle Bande Nere and was the mother of Cosimo I de Medici. Her husband died 30 November 1526, leaving her a widow at the age of 27. Salviati never remarried; after her husband's death she adopted the somber garb of a novice, which is how she is remembered today as numerous late portraits show her attired in black and white.
Eleonora di Garzia di Toledo or Leonor Álvarez de Toledo Osorio, more often known as "Leonora" or "Dianora", was the daughter of García Álvarez de Toledo, 4th Marquis of Villafranca, Duke of Fernandina. Leonora was born in Florence, where she was brought up by Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany and his wife Eleanor of Toledo, her aunt and namesake. Betrothed to their son Pietro at the age of 15, she blossomed under the wing of Pietro's older sister, the artistic patron Isabella, into a vivacious and witty beauty. Her marriage, like Isabella's, was not a success, and she followed her mentor's example of taking lovers. For this reason, Pietro had her brought in 1576 to the country retreat of Cafaggiolo, where he strangled her to death with a dog leash. Cosimo's successor, Francesco I, tacitly approved the murder, and Pietro was never brought to justice for it.
The Portrait of Giovanni de' Medici as a Child is an oil on panel painting by the Florentine artist Agnolo Bronzino. It is currently located at the Galleria degli Uffizi in Florence.
The Portrait of Bia de' Medici is an oil-tempera on wood painting by the Italian Mannerist painter Agnolo Bronzino, dating to around 1542 and now in the Uffizi in Florence. For a long time it was displayed in the Tribuna at the heart of the museum, but since 2012 it has been moved to the "sale rosse" of the Nuovi Uffizi. A second portrait, by Pontormo, has also been argued to show Bia de' Medici, but this identification is disputed.
The Portrait of a Young Man with a Book is a painting by Agnolo Bronzino created in the 1530s. After its creation, it was owned amongst various aristocrats and art collectors until it entered the collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art 1929. The painting was commissioned by the powerful Florentine family, the Medici. Bronzino worked as court artist for Cosimo I de' Medici where he became the leading portrait painter in Florence. Bronzino's style of portraits transitioned from more natural to idealized instead, and this shift is evident in the composition of Portrait of a Young Man with a Book, which depicts a young man with his fingers placed inside of a book. Infared reflectology reveals that Bronzino deliberately made changes to achieve his goals for the portrait. This painting has many interpretations as it is unclear who the sitter is exactly.
