New Delhi: Agnolo di Cosimo, popularly known as Bronzino or Agnolo Bronzino was a famous Italian painter from Florence. He was given the sobriquet Bronzino probably due to his reddish hair or relatively dark skin. He is hailed as one of the greatest painters Italy had ever produced.
Born in Florence, Bronzino was the son of a butcher. His contemporary Vasari states that Bronzino learnt the art of painting first from Raffaellino del Garbo and then from Pontormo, and he was apprenticed to him at the age of 14. Pontormo had a massive influence on the developing style of Bronzino and the two would collaborate extensively.
The Medici patronage of Bronzino
In 1539, Bronzino first received the patronage of the Medici, the powerful family in Italy. He was among the many artists who had to elaborately decorate the wedding of Cosimo I de’ Medici and Eleonora di Toledo, the Naples Viceroy’s daughter. Soon he became the Duke’s official court painter and remained in that position for most of his life. His portrait figures have been described as stylish, static, and elegant, and his paintings influenced the European court portraiture for a century. Bronzino also painted portraits of the poets Petrarch and Dante.
Bronzino spent his entire life in Florence and was the court painter of Cosimo I de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany from his late 30s. Despite being mainly a portraitist, he also painted many religious subjects, and a few allegorical subjects and his best-known work is Venus, Cupid, Folly and Time, which is now in London.
Even though Pontormo influenced his developing style, the elegant and elongated figures of Bronzino look calm and to some extent reserved. His portraits do not have Pontormo’s agitation and emotion. His paintings have been described as cold and artificial, and his reputation suffered in the 19th and early 20th centuries. However, in recent decades, his works have been more favoured by people. He passed away on November 23, 1572, at the age of 69.
Born in Florence, Bronzino was the son of a butcher. His contemporary Vasari states that Bronzino learnt the art of painting first from Raffaellino del Garbo and then from Pontormo. knowledge Knowledge News, Photos and Videos on General Knowledge
