Francesco de' Medici
Alessandro Allori·c. 1560
Historical Context
Alessandro Allori painted this portrait of Francesco de' Medici around 1560, depicting the heir to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany who would rule Florence from 1574 to 1587. Allori was one of the leading painters of late sixteenth-century Florence, trained by his uncle (and adopted father) Bronzino, from whom he inherited a refined portrait style. Francesco was known for his interest in alchemy and science, and Allori's portrait captures the reserved, intellectual character of the future Grand Duke.
Technical Analysis
Allori's oil on panel demonstrates the polished, enamel-like surface and precise drawing characteristic of Florentine Mannerist portraiture. The cool, restrained palette and the meticulous rendering of the subject's costume reflect the Bronzino-derived approach to aristocratic portraiture.
Provenance
Probably Prince Anatole Demidoff, Villa San Donato, Florence (d. 1870) [see McComb 1928; the painting may be the “Portrait de Come di Médicis” attributed to Bronzino that was sold in the March 15, 1880 sale of the contents of the Villa San Donato as lot 1387]. Sulley and Co., London [according to Townsend and Howard 1919]; sold by Sulley and Co. to Edward R. Bacon (d. 1915), New York and Netherdale House, Turriff, Aberdeenshire [according to Townsend and Howard 1919]; at his death to his sister-in-law, Virginia Purdy Bacon; sold Christie’s, London, December 12, 1919, no. 69, as Bronzino, Portrait of a Youth, for ₤620 [according to an annotated sale catalogue in the Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles]. Duveen Brothers, New York, by 1925 [according to McComb 1928 and information on the mount of a photograph of this picture in the Witt Library, London]. Edgar Kaufmann, Jr., Pittsburgh, by 1932 [according to Berenson 1932]; given to the Art Institute, 1965.
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