IL BRONZINO

Agnolo di Cosimo di Mariano Tori, better known as "Il Bronzino," is com­monly regarded as a principal figure of sixteenth-century Italian Mannerist paint­ing. He was born in Monticelli, in the vicinity of Florence, and served an apprenticeship under the artist Rafaelino del Garbo. But it was his close friend­ship and lifelong professional association with Pontormo* beginning around 1517 that strongly influenced Bronzino's early artistic persona. In time, however, he gradually emerged from his master's influence to develop an increasingly refined, cerebral style of painting.

After a stint in the service of the duke of Urbino, Bronzino returned to Flor­ence, where he continued to collaborate with Pontormo while taking on inde­pendent work.In 1539 he was commissioned to assist with the wedding decorations for the marriage of Cosimo I* and Eleanora of Toledo.* The success of his efforts led to his employment as the official painter and portraitist of the Medici court, an appointment that produced many of his most representative works. The pronounced use of chiaroscuro and the formal, aristocratic poise evident in earlier portraits like that ofGuidobaldo della Rovere(1532) were showcased and refined in his portraits of Cosimo I (date uncertain) and his family. His portrait of Cosimo's illegitimate daughter,Bia de' Medici(before 1542), is frequently noted for its almost lapidarian stillness and beauty. Por­traiture aside, Bronzino's major accomplishment during this phase of his career was the Chapel of Eleanora, in the Palazzo Vecchio, which he meticulously decorated in fresco between 1540 and 1546. Bronzino's other paintings often reflect the sophisticated composition and awkward, highly stylized posturings typical of Mannerism, such as the erudite and eroticAllegory of Venus, Cupid, Time, and Folly(before 1545).

Bronzino was eventually eclipsed in the Medici court by Giorgio Vasari,* but his professional reputation remained intact. He continued to receive commis­sions, mostly for religious pieces that were influenced by his study of the ana­tomical work of Michelangelo* and Raphael.* Aside from painting, Bronzino also pursued his interest in poetry by publishing a number of his own works between 1555 and 1560 and dedicating others to his patron Cosimo I. He re­mained active until his death in 1572.

A. Cecchi, Bronzino, 1996.