Lot N. 171
Scuola di Alessandro Allori (1535 - 1607)
Ferdinando de' Medici in cardinal dress
(1535-1607)
oil on canvas, framed, few defects
cm 83x53
The wooden passepartout is laid on canvas.
The following technical sheet of the work was created by Professor Sandro Bellesi as part of the inventory of the paintings of the Fattoria Franceschini.
The painting, of good stylistic quality and in excellent condition, shows, more than half-length, Ferdinand I de 'Medici, at the time of his cardinalate. Sixth son of Cosimo I of Tuscany and his wife Eleonora di Toledo, Ferdinando was born in Florence on July 30, 1549 and, still a young man, in 1562, he was appointed cardinal, following the death of his brother Giovanni, destined for the will of the family to the ecclesiastical world . After moving to Rome where he lived in great comfort surrounded by artists and appreciated men of culture, Ferdinando was suddenly recalled home in 1587, following the death of his elder brother Francesco, who died without having left male heirs. After years of diplomatic successes, Ferdinando died in his hometown on 7 February 1609, leaving the Grand Ducal title to his eldest son Cosimo II, born in 1590. Currently also known in another version on an autographed board by Alessandro Allori, which appeared in recent times on the antiquarian market, the work can be assigned to the school of the same artist, appointed in 1572, on the death of Bronzino, official portraitist of the Tuscan Grand Ducal family. Although a little weaker in quality than the original, this one, datable to the 1880s, shows characteristics typical of Allori and his entourage, characters evident in the descriptive elegance of the figure, in the choice of cold colors and in the good definition of the drawing.
The following technical sheet of the work was created by Professor Sandro Bellesi as part of the inventory of the paintings of the Fattoria Franceschini.
The painting, of good stylistic quality and in excellent condition, shows, more than half-length, Ferdinand I de 'Medici, at the time of his cardinalate. Sixth son of Cosimo I of Tuscany and his wife Eleonora di Toledo, Ferdinando was born in Florence on July 30, 1549 and, still a young man, in 1562, he was appointed cardinal, following the death of his brother Giovanni, destined for the will of the family to the ecclesiastical world . After moving to Rome where he lived in great comfort surrounded by artists and appreciated men of culture, Ferdinando was suddenly recalled home in 1587, following the death of his elder brother Francesco, who died without having left male heirs. After years of diplomatic successes, Ferdinando died in his hometown on 7 February 1609, leaving the Grand Ducal title to his eldest son Cosimo II, born in 1590. Currently also known in another version on an autographed board by Alessandro Allori, which appeared in recent times on the antiquarian market, the work can be assigned to the school of the same artist, appointed in 1572, on the death of Bronzino, official portraitist of the Tuscan Grand Ducal family. Although a little weaker in quality than the original, this one, datable to the 1880s, shows characteristics typical of Allori and his entourage, characters evident in the descriptive elegance of the figure, in the choice of cold colors and in the good definition of the drawing.