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 Boboli Gardens is a historical park of the city of Florence that was opened to the public in 1766. Originally designed for the Medici, it represents one of the first and most important examples of the Italian garden, which later served as inspiration for many European courts. Statues of various styles and periods, ancient and Renaissance, dot the garden. It also has large fountains and artificial caves, notably a grotto built by the artist, architect, and sculptor Bernardo Buontalenti between 1536 and 1608.
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.
Bernardo Timante Buonacorsi, known as Bernardo Buontalenti and sometimes by the nickname "Bernardo delle Girandole", was an Italian stage designer, architect, theatrical designer, military engineer, artist, and the purported inventor of Italian ice cream.
The painting, Portrait of Eleanor of Toledo and Her Son Giovanni, was painted c. 1545 by Agnolo di Cosimo. The painting is of Eleonora di Toledo, the Duchess of Florence, and her son Giovanni. This portrait uses the position of the two and their clothing to exemplify her power, fertility, and the legacy of the Medici family. It is housed in the Uffizi Gallery of Florence, Italy and is considered one of the preeminent examples of Mannerist portraiture.
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 Vasari Corridor is an elevated enclosed passageway in Florence, central Italy, connecting the Palazzo Vecchio with the Palazzo Pitti. Beginning on the south side of the Palazzo Vecchio, it joins the Uffizi Gallery and leaves on its south side, crossing the Lungarno dei Archibusieri, then following the north bank of the River Arno until it crosses the river at Ponte Vecchio. At the time of construction, the corridor had to be built around the Torre dei Mannelli, using brackets, because the tower's owners refused to alter it. The corridor conceals part of the façade of the Church of Santa Felicità. It then snakes its way over rows of houses in the Oltrarno district, becoming narrower, to finally join the Palazzo Pitti. The corridor's full length is approximately one kilometre.
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 1552 in art.
Valerio Cioli (1529–1599) was an Italian Renaissance sculptor.
A double-sided painting is a canvas which has a painting on either side. Historically, artists would often paint on both sides out of need of material. The subject matter of the two paintings was sometimes, although not normally, related.
Perseus Freeing Andromeda or Liberation of Andromeda is a painting created by Piero di Cosimo, during the Italian Renaissance. The painting was praised by critics and art historians for its aesthetic, cosmological and political implications. The painting is a recreation of the myth of Perseus, the demi-god, who slays the sea monster and saves the beautiful Andromeda. The painting is based on a story created by the ancient Roman writer Ovid, in the Metamorphoses. The themes of the painting include platonic love, ideal beauty, marriage, and natural beauty. The painting includes portraits of the Medici family and many of Florentine's elite upper ruling class as characters in the story of Perseus Freeing Andromeda. The painting also represents a paragone between painting and sculpture. The painting resides in the Uffizi in Florence.
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.
Panciatichi Assumption is a painting created c. 1522–1523 by the Italian Renaissance artist Andrea del Sarto. It is housed in the Galleria Palatina of Palazzo Pitti, Florence, Italy.
Portrait of Stefano IV Colonna is an oil on canvas painting completed by the Italian Renaissance painter Bronzino and housed in the Pinacoteca of the Gallerie Nazionali di Arte Antica in Rome, Italy.
Nano Morgante was an Italian dwarf who was a famed buffoon and court jester in the court of Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany. Morgante was ironically nicknamed after the giant from the poem of the same name by Luigi Pulci. He was the most celebrated of the five dwarves of the Medici court at the Palazzo Pitti.
Fontana del Bacchino is an Italian Renaissance sculpture of 1560 by Valerio Cioli (1529-1599) in the Boboli Gardens in Florence featuring a statue in the likeness of the famed dwarf buffoon from the court of Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, Nano Morgante modeled after Bacchus and riding a tortoise. In 1572 the statue was turned into a fountain.
