Agnolo Bronzino: court painter of Cosimo I De Medici
Agnolo di Cosimo, called Bronzino, one of the most refined painters of Florentine Mannerism, was born on November 17, 1503.
He did an initial apprenticeship with Raffaellino Garbo and continued his training in Pontormo's workshop. Bronzino immediately showed great talent and took part in important commissions together with the master, including the paintings of the Capponi Chapel in the church of Santa Felicita.
After the siege of Florence by Charles V of Habsburg, he worked in Pesaro and Urbino for the Della Rovere family, establishing himself as a portraitist.
Returning to Florence, in 1539 he took part in the modernization works of Palazzo Vecchio following the marriage of the Grand Duke Cosimo I de' Medici to Eleonora di Toledo.
On this occasion Bronzino painted the frescoes in Eleonora's private chapel in Palazzo Vecchio, which are scenographically displayed across the entire wall surface. The chapel was completed by a magnificent Deposition of Christ (now at the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Besançon). The ambassador of Charles V, Nicolas Perrenot de Granvelle, saw this work and fell in love with it, so to gain his good graces during his visit for the diplomatic negotiations in Florence in 1545, Cosimo I decided to give it to him as a gift. The panel was then replaced in 1553 by another almost identical Deposition by Bronzino.
Agnolo Bronzino immediately became one of the Medici family's favorite artists, so much so that Cosimo I wanted him as court painter. In fact, it was Bronzino who painted the portraits of the Grand Duke, his wife Eleonora and his children. Especially famous is the Portrait of Eleonora di Toledo with her son Giovanni (1545), a triumph of elegance on a cobalt blue background. Eleonora appears here imperturbable and “perfect” posing together with her little son, wearing big jewels and her most precious dress, which Bronzino did not fail to describe in every sparkling detail. A portrait that dispalys exactly what the Medici wanted to advertise about themselves as sovereigns: power, decorum, taste and refinement.
Only Agnolo Bronzino could do justice to this vision.
The painter died on November 23, 1572 in the house of his pupil Alessandro Allori, who had become almost like a son to him, leaving his precious lesson as a legacy: a refined and detail oriented style, that aims for perfection and - we daresay - almost achieves it.