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After Bronzino, Portrait of Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany

Key facts
Full title Portrait of Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany
Artist After Bronzino
Artist dates 1503 - 1572
Date made probably before 1574
Medium and support Oil on wood
Dimensions 21.3 × 17.1 cm
Acquisition credit Presented by Queen Victoria at the Prince Consort's wish, 1863
Inventory number NG704
Location Not on display
Collection Main Collection
Previous owners
Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and Empress of India
Portrait of Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany
After Bronzino
/

This is a portrait of Cosimo I de‘ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, at the age of 40. It is based on Bronzino’s official portrait of the Duke of 1559, but is unlikely to have been painted by Bronzino or his assistants.

Prior to Medici rule, Florence had been a republic. Cosimo was Duke of Florence from 1537 until 1569, at which point he became Grand Duke of Tuscany until his death in 1574. He was married first of all to Eleonora of Toledo and then to Camilla Martelli, and fathered 15 children.

He was a great patron of the arts, building the Uffizi (’offices') which now house one of the world’s greatest art collections, completing the Pitti Palace as a Medici residence and creating the Boboli Gardens which surround it. Cosimo commissioned many works of art from artists including Bronzino, Pontormo, Vasari, and the sculptor Cellini.

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