Pontormo, Bronzino, and the Medici: The Transformation of the Renaissance Portrait in Florence

Co-published with the Philadelphia Museum of Art This book accompanies an exhibition of the same name held at the Philadelphia Museum of Art upon the completion of conservation of Pontormo’s famous portrait of Duke Alessandro de’ Medici. Centering on Pontormo’s painting and Agnolo Bronzino’s equally renowned depiction of another Medici duke, Cosimo I, the exhibition of some fifty sixteenth-century works from American and European collections explores the ways in which these artists changed the Renaissance portrait during this tumultuous period in Florence’s history.

In his catalogue entries, Carl Brandon Strehlke surveys the history and multifaceted significance of the Medici portraits and other paintings, drawings, coins, medals, books, and prints in the exhibition, offering a wealth of insights into the Medici dukes and the artists who served them. This fully illustrated volume also features Elizabeth Cropper’s thought-provoking essay “Pontormo and Bronzino in Philadelphia: A Double Portrait,” which explores the rich cultural and artistic background behind these artists’ portraiture. The two Philadelphia portraits offer fascinating private views of important rulers of Renaissance Florence. An essay by Mark S. Tucker and colleagues discusses findings from the recent conservation of Pontormo’s portrait of Alessandro. A glossary, a genealogy of the Medici family, and a bibliography complete this publication.

The book will accompany an exhibition to be held at the Philadelphia Museum of Art from November 20, 2004, to February 13, 2005.