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Portrait of Eleanor of Toledo

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Portrait of Eleanor of Toledo and Her Son
Italian: Eleonora di Toledo col figlio Giovanni
ArtistBronzino
Yearcirca 1545
TypeOil on panel
Dimensions115 cm × 96 cm (45 in × 38 in)
LocationGalleria degli Uffizi, Florence, Italy
Websitehttps://www.uffizi.it/en/artworks/eleonora-di-toledo

The painting, Portrait of Eleanor of Toledo and Her Son Giovanni, was painted c. 1545 by Agnolo di Cosimo.[1] 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.[2] It is housed in the Uffizi Gallery of Florence, Italy and is considered one of the preeminent examples of Mannerist portraiture.[3]

History

Medici Family

Duke Cosimo I de' Medici (1519–1574) and his Spanish wife, Duchess Eleonora di Toledo (1522–1562), were Bronzino's most famous and longstanding patrons.[4] Emperor Charles V granted the Ducal title on Cosimo I de' Medici following the assassination of Alessandro de' Medici in 1537.[4] Despite their wealth and connections, the Medici were merchant bankers whose political influence emerged from their clever business practices. They did not gain their wealth from being royalty.[5] Cosimo I de' Medici commissioned numerous works of art and architectural projects in an effort to enhance Florence's beauty and position himself as a powerful leader, dynasty securer, and educated, devout individual.[4] In 1539, Cosimo married the Spanish Eleonora di Toledo, the daughter of the viceroy of Naples, Don Pedro de Toledo.[4]

Eleonora di Medici

Detail of Eleonora

In 1522, Eleonora was born in Spain.[6] Eleonora, her mother Doña María Osorio y Pimentel, and her siblings joined her father, Don Pedro de Toledo, at the luxurious court of Naples in 1534.[6] Eleonora was an attractive prospect for marriage, having been born into Spanish aristocracy and growing up in a royal court with a father who was close to the Holy Roman Emperor.[6] She married Cosimo I de' Medici five years later when she was seventeen years old.[6] Eleonora's sharp economic ability and imperial connections benefited Cosimo's new government, while her eleven children guaranteed the new Medici family bloodline.[6] Being the Duchess of Florence, Eleonora would take her husbands place in governing while he was away handling situations regarding war or diplomacy. She borrowed money from the state in both her name and jointly with Cosimo, confirming that Eleonora's money was extremely paramount regarding how the city-state of Florence became so successful.[7] Along with the assistance of her advisors, Eleonora proved to everyone she was a well-adjusted Duchess.[7] Eleonora played a key role in shaping her position as a consort into both a matriarchal and political position.[6] Because of her role as “first lady,” she is often regarded as the first modern woman.[6]

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.[8] One of his most famous works,[9] it is housed in the Uffizi Gallery of Florence, Italy and is considered one of the preeminent examples of Mannerist portraiture.[10] 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.[11] 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.[12]

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.[9]

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.[13] 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.[14] 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.

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.[15]

When Eleanor's body was exhumed in the 19th century, some concluded she had been buried in the same dress as in the portrait.[9] 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).[16][17] 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.[18]

References

External videos
video icon Smarthistory – Bronzino's Portrait of Eleonora di Toledo with her son Giovanni[13]
  1. ^ Zappella, Christine (9 August 2015). "Bronzino, Portrait of Eleonora of Toledo with her son Giovanni". Smarthistory.
  2. ^ Cox-Rearick, Janet; Bulgarella, Mary Westerman (2004). Accessed 8 Nov. 2024. "Public and Private Portraits of Cosimo de' Medici and Eleonora Di Toledo: Bronzino's Paintings of His Ducal Patrons in Ottawa and Turin". Artibus et Historiae. 25 (49): 101–159 – via JSTOR. {{cite journal}}: Check |url= value (help)
  3. ^ "Eleanor of Toledo with Her Son Giovanni". Britannica. Retrieved 21 April 2011. (subscription required)
  4. ^ a b c d Gertenbach, Liselotte (2021). "Agnolo Bronzino: The Declining Reputation of a Renaissance Court Artist": 17–27 – via Academia.edu. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  5. ^ Zappella, Christine (9 August 2015). "Bronzino, Portrait of Eleonora of Toledo with her son Giovanni". Smarthistory.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Zappella, Christine (9 August 2015). "Bronzino, Portrait of Eleonora of Toledo with her son Giovanni". Smarthistory.
  7. ^ a b Thomas, Joe A. (1994). "Fabric and Dress in Bronzino's Portrait of Eleanor of Toledo and Son Giovanni". Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte. 57 (2). Deutscher Kunstverlag GmbH Munchen Berlin: 262–67 – via JSTOR.
  8. ^ "Smarthistory – Bronzino, Portrait of Eleonora of Toledo with her son Giovanni". smarthistory.org. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  9. ^ a b c 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.
  10. ^ "Eleanor of Toledo with Her Son Giovanni". Britannica. Retrieved 21 April 2011. (subscription required)
  11. ^ 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
  12. ^ Bilik, Shiri (Spring 2002), "Women Who Ruled", Michigan Today, University of Michigan, archived from the original on 26 July 2013, retrieved 16 December 2012
  13. ^ a b "Bronzino's Portrait of Eleonora di Toledo with her son Giovanni". Smarthistory at Khan Academy. Retrieved 30 December 2012.
  14. ^ Monnas (2012), p. 20
  15. ^ "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.
  16. ^ Arnold (1985), p. 102
  17. ^ Landini (2005), p 70-74.
  18. ^ "Medici Archive". Retrieved 30 December 2012.

Sources

  • Arnold, Janet (1985). Patterns of fashion 3: The cut and construction of clothes for men and women, c. 1560–1620. London New York: Macmillan Drama Book. ISBN 0896760839.
  • Buticchi, Susanna. La Grande Storia dell'Arte. Cinquecento. Firenze. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  • Landini, Roberta Orsi; Bruna, Niccola (2005). Moda a Firenze 1540–1580: Lo stile di Eleonora di Toledo e la sua influenza. Italy: Mauro Pagliai.
  • Monnas, Lisa (2012). Renaissance Velvets. London New York: V&A Pub. Distributed in North America by Harry N. Abrams. ISBN 9781851776566.
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