Michele Tosini
Encyclopedia
Michele Tosini was an Italian
painter of the Renaissance
and Mannerist period, who worked in Florence
.
He apprenticed initially with Lorenzo di Credi
and Antonio del Ceraiolo
, but then moved into the studio of Ridolfo Ghirlandaio, from whom he acquired the name Michele di Ridolfi or Michele Ghirlandaio.
Tosini began painting in the early 16th-century Florentine style of Fra Bartolommeo
and Andrea del Sarto
(e.g. the Virgin of the Sacred Girdle, c. 1525; Florence, San Marco). His acceptance of Mannerism
was slow, but by the 1540s the influence of Francesco Salviati
and Agnolo Bronzino was visible in his work. After 1556, Tosini served as an assistant to Giorgio Vasari
in the decoration of the Salone dei Cinquecento in the Palazzo Vecchio
in Florence
. Through Vasari's example, Tosini adopted a vocabulary derived from the work of Michelangelo
and painted some of his best-known works in this manner (e.g. Night, c. 1560; Rome, Galleria Colonna, and Leda, c. 1560; Rome, Galleria Borghese). He executed several important commissions late in his career: the fresco decoration of three city gates of Florence (1560s), the altar in the chapel at the Villa Caserotta (1561), near San Casciano Val di Pesa, and the paintings on the sides and back of the tabernacle of the high altar of Santa Maria della Quercia (1570), Viterbo. According to Vasari, Tosini headed a large workshop that executed numerous altarpieces and paintings. He was also a notable portraitist.
Tosini was a mentor to Bernardino Poccetti
.
; Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery, University of Glasgow; McMullen Museum of Art at Boston College; Palmer Museum of Art at Pennsylvania State University; State Museums of Florence Digital Archive, Italy.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
painter of the Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
and Mannerist period, who worked in Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
.
He apprenticed initially with Lorenzo di Credi
Lorenzo di Credi
Lorenzo di Credi was an Italian Renaissance painter and sculptor. He first influenced Leonardo da Vinci and then was greatly influenced by him.-Life:...
and Antonio del Ceraiolo
Antonio del Ceraiolo
Antonio del Ceraiolo was an Italian painter, active in Florence in a Renaissance style, between 1520 and 1538. He was a pupil of Ridolfo Ghirlandaio, and then Lorenzo di Credi....
, but then moved into the studio of Ridolfo Ghirlandaio, from whom he acquired the name Michele di Ridolfi or Michele Ghirlandaio.
Tosini began painting in the early 16th-century Florentine style of Fra Bartolommeo
Fra Bartolommeo
Fra Bartolomeo or Fra Bartolommeo , also known as Baccio della Porta, was an Italian Renaissance painter of religious subjects.-Biography:He was born in Savignano di Prato, Tuscany...
and Andrea del Sarto
Andrea del Sarto
Andrea del Sarto was an Italian painter from Florence, whose career flourished during the High Renaissance and early Mannerism. Though highly regarded during his lifetime as an artist senza errori , his renown was eclipsed after his death by that of his contemporaries, Leonardo da Vinci,...
(e.g. the Virgin of the Sacred Girdle, c. 1525; Florence, San Marco). His acceptance of Mannerism
Mannerism
Mannerism is a period of European art that emerged from the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520. It lasted until about 1580 in Italy, when a more Baroque style began to replace it, but Northern Mannerism continued into the early 17th century throughout much of Europe...
was slow, but by the 1540s the influence of Francesco Salviati
Francesco Salviati
Francesco Salviati may refer to:* Francesco Salviati , archbishop of Pisa, involve in the Pazzi Conspiracy* Francesco de' Rossi , Mannerist artist...
and Agnolo Bronzino was visible in his work. After 1556, Tosini served as an assistant to Giorgio Vasari
Giorgio Vasari
Giorgio Vasari was an Italian painter, writer, historian, and architect, who is famous today for his biographies of Italian artists, considered the ideological foundation of art-historical writing.-Biography:...
in the decoration of the Salone dei Cinquecento in the Palazzo Vecchio
Palazzo Vecchio
The Palazzo Vecchio is the town hall of Florence, Italy. This massive, Romanesque, crenellated fortress-palace is among the most impressive town halls of Tuscany...
in Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
. Through Vasari's example, Tosini adopted a vocabulary derived from the work of Michelangelo
Michelangelo
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni , commonly known as Michelangelo, was an Italian Renaissance painter, sculptor, architect, poet, and engineer who exerted an unparalleled influence on the development of Western art...
and painted some of his best-known works in this manner (e.g. Night, c. 1560; Rome, Galleria Colonna, and Leda, c. 1560; Rome, Galleria Borghese). He executed several important commissions late in his career: the fresco decoration of three city gates of Florence (1560s), the altar in the chapel at the Villa Caserotta (1561), near San Casciano Val di Pesa, and the paintings on the sides and back of the tabernacle of the high altar of Santa Maria della Quercia (1570), Viterbo. According to Vasari, Tosini headed a large workshop that executed numerous altarpieces and paintings. He was also a notable portraitist.
Tosini was a mentor to Bernardino Poccetti
Bernardino Poccetti
Bernardino Poccetti , also known as Barbatelli, was an Italian Mannerist painter and printmaker in etching ....
.
Collections
Michele Tosini is represented in the following collections amongst others: National Gallery, London; Czartoryski MuseumCzartoryski Museum
The Czartoryski Museum and Library is a museum located in Kraków, Poland, founded in Puławy in 1796 by Princess Izabela Czartoryska. The Puławy collections were partly destroyed after the November uprising of 1830–1831 and the subsequent confiscation of the Czartoryskis' property by the Russians...
; Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery, University of Glasgow; McMullen Museum of Art at Boston College; Palmer Museum of Art at Pennsylvania State University; State Museums of Florence Digital Archive, Italy.