Portrait of Eleanor of Toledo

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Portrait of Eleanor of Toledo and Her Son
Italian: Eleonora di Toledo col figlio Giovanni
Bronzino - Eleonora di Toledo col figlio Giovanni - Google Art Project.jpg
Artist Bronzino
Yearcirca 1545
Type Oil on panel
Dimensions115 cm× 96 cm(45 in× 38 in)
LocationDetroit Institute of Arts, Detroit

The Portrait of Eleanor of Toledo and Her Son is a painting by the Italian artist Agnolo di Cosimo, known as Bronzino, finished ca. 1545. One of his most famous works, [1] it is housed in the Uffizi Gallery of Florence, Italy and is considered one of the preeminent examples of Mannerist portraiture. [2] The painting depicts Eleanor of Toledo, the wife of Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, sitting with her hand resting on the shoulder of one of her sons. This gesture, as well as the pomegranate motif on her dress, referred to her role as mother. Eleanor wears a heavily brocaded dress with black arabesques. In this pose, she is depicted as the ideal woman of the Renaissance. [3] The painting is the first known state-commissioned portrait to include the ruler's heir. By including the child, Cosimo wished to imply that his rule would bring stability to the duchy. [4]

Contents

The child has been variously identified as being either Eleanor's son Francesco (born 1541), Giovanni (born 1543) or Garzia (born 1547). If the subject is the latter, the portrait should be dated around 1550–53, but the date is now generally assigned to c. 1545, based on an examination of the evolution of Bronzino's style, which would suggest Giovanni. [1]

The portrait has been called "cold", reflecting the sober formality of Eleanor's native Spanish Court, without the warmth typically expected of a portrait of mother and child. Such distancing is typical of the Mannerist school's rejection of naturalism. [5] Conversely, Eleanor's gown of elaborate brocaded velvet, with its massed bouclé effects of gold weft loops in the style called riccio sopra riccio (loop over loop), is painstakingly replicated. [6] The painting is perhaps an advertisement for the Florentine silk industry, which had fallen in popularity in the first difficult years of the sixteenth century and was revived in the reign of Cosimo I. The precious golden belt, decorated with jewels and beads with a tassel, may have been made by the goldsmith Benvenuto Cellini.

Clothing

Detail of the brocaded velvet. Bronzino Eleanor of Toledo fabric detail.jpg
Detail of the brocaded velvet.

Eleanor is depicted wearing a formal gown over a camisa or smock of linen trimmed with narrow bands of blackwork embroidery at the neck and sleeve ruffles. Bronzino's painting captures the dimensionality of the brocaded silk velvet fabric in the gown with its loops of gold-wrapped thread and black pile arabesques against a white satin ground. Clothing made of such rich textiles was reserved for official occasions and was not typical of Eleanor's everyday wardrobe, which featured solid-coloured gowns of velvets and satins. [7]

When Eleanor's body was exhumed in the 19th century, some concluded she had been buried in the same dress as in the portrait. [1] An almost identical hairnet might have caused this confusion. But newer research shows that she was buried in a much simpler white satin gown over a crimson velvet bodice (and probably a matching petticoat, which has not survived). [8] [9] After a long and complex restoration, the original clothing has been conserved and detailed reconstructions are displayed in the Costume Gallery in the Palazzo Pitti, Florence. The original garments are much too fragile for public display. [10]

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Garzia de' Medici was the son of Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and Eleanor of Toledo. He was the subject of a famous painting by Bronzino when he was an infant. He was born in Florence and died of malaria along with his mother while traveling to Pisa, a few days after his brother, Cardinal Giovanni, also died of the disease.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eleonora di Garzia di Toledo</span> Italian noblewoman

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.

<i>Portrait of Giovanni de Medici as a Child</i> Painting by Bronzino

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.

<i>Portrait of Bia de Medici</i> Painting by Bronzino

The Portrait of Bia de' Medici is an oil-tempera on wood painting by 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.

Garzia is the Italianized form of the Spanish name García. Notable people with the name include:

References

External videos
Nuvola apps kaboodle.svg Smarthistory – Bronzino's Portrait of Eleonora di Toledo with her son Giovanni [5]
  1. 1 2 3 Thomas, Joe A. (1994). "Fabric and Dress in Bronzino's Portrait of Eleanor of Toledo and Son Giovanni". Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte. 57 (2): 262–67. doi:10.2307/1482735. JSTOR   1482735.
  2. "Eleanor of Toledo with Her Son Giovanni". Britannica . Retrieved 21 April 2011. (subscription required)
  3. Teplis, Michelle (2011), "The Ideal Woman behind a Portrait", Armstrong Undergraduate Journal of History, Armstrong Atlantic State University, ISSN   2163-8551 , retrieved 16 December 2012
  4. Bilik, Shiri (Spring 2002), "Women Who Ruled", Michigan Today, University of Michigan, archived from the original on 26 July 2013, retrieved 16 December 2012
  5. 1 2 "Bronzino's Portrait of Eleonora di Toledo with her son Giovanni". Smarthistory at Khan Academy. Retrieved 30 December 2012.
  6. Monnas (2012), p. 20
  7. "Fashion at the Medici Court: the conserved clothes of Cosimo, Eleonora and don Garzia – Florence, Galleria del Costume, Palazzo Pitti, June 25 – December 31, 1993 (exhibition catalogue)" . Retrieved 31 December 2012.
  8. Arnold (1985), p. 102
  9. Landini (2005), p 70-74.
  10. "Medici Archive" . Retrieved 30 December 2012.

Sources