Portrait Of Maria De’ Medici by Alessandro Allori was created in c.1555. The painting is Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna. The size of the work is 116 x 90 cm and is made as an oil on wood.
The most important artists and workshops in Florence had worked for the Medici since the early Renaissance. In 1570, with the appointment of Cosimo I as Grand Duke of Tuscany, the former banking family had definitely risen to become one of the first families in Europe. The portrait of the person depicted here, probably a daughter of Cosimo, could have reached the court of the Habsburgs in the course of nuptial negotiations – both families were bound by an intensive marriage policy.
About the Artist: Italian portrait painter of the late Mannerist Florentine school Alessandro Allori was born in Florence. He trained in art by a close friend, the mannerist painter Agnolo Bronzino. Allori is the last of the line of prominent Florentine painters, of generally undiluted Tuscan artistic heritage. Subsequent generations in the city would be strongly influenced by the tide of Baroque styles pre-eminent in other parts of Italy. Allori also did a number of important works for members of the Salviati family, including mythological scenes for Alamanno Salviati’s villa near Florence. his style was more naturalistic and Baroque than that of his father… Read more
