Portrait of Giovanni de' Medici as a Child
Encyclopedia
The Portrait of Giovanni de' Medici as a Child (c. 1545) is an oil on panel painting by the Florentine
artist Agnolo Bronzino. It is currently located at the Galleria degli Uffizi
in Florence
.
. It was painted for his father, Cosimo I de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany. Bronzino was the official painter of the Medici Court from 1532 and did many portraits of Duke Cosimo I and his family. Cosimo had his portrait done by Bronzino around 1545, the Portrait of Cosimo I de’ Medici
. Giovanni and his mother Eleonora of Toledo were the subjects of another portrait by Bronzino from around 1545 or 1546, the Portrait of Eleonora of Toledo and Her Son
.
’s Crown of Thorns and the Passion. It appears in religious paintings to represent the knowledge of the future Crucifixion. Around his neck, he wears a gold chain with a coral and other charms. It was believed that coral
could protect children from harm.
Unlike Bronzino’s other portraits that depict the sitters viewing the world with a distant, aristocratic disdain, Giovanni’s portrait is animated and engaging. The portraits of Cosimo’s other children are represented with the same emotionless faces as the adults. They do not show any of the children's personality and are very serious. Most of the portraits have the sitter with the body almost face-on, with a slight three-quarter turn of the head to the left. The sitter looks at the viewer and the dark backgrounds are unspecific. Giovanni’s portrait is quite different. It depicts an almost 2-year-old child cheerfully and realistically, with an accurate description of the morphology of a young child. Unlike the portraits of the duke’s other sons, it is cropped above the knee and the body is presented almost frontally with a slight turn to our left. The child is seated on dark-brown bench, with a dark green background that contrasts well with his pink clothes that are the same color as his coral charm. It is a natural depiction of early childhood with his chubby face and fingers. Two of his baby teeth are peeping out, and he has tufts of fine hair that all add to his delightful representation. His active expression is that of a young child as he smiles and gazes out at the viewer. Giovanni was the fourth and youngest child of Cosimo, and was portrayed differently than his brothers because his father had different goals for his life.. Years later, after Giovanni was became a cardinal at the age of seventeen, he had an allegorical portrait of himself also by Bronzino, called, Portrait of Giovanni de’ Medici as St. John the Baptist, which was painted between 1560 and 1562.
It was said a month after he was born, he was “beautiful and plump” (bello e grasso) and “like an angel from paradise”. In 1547, he was described as “the handsomest and happiest boy that ever was…” which certainly fits the portrayal of his character in this charming portrait.
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....
artist Agnolo Bronzino. It is currently located at the Galleria degli Uffizi
Uffizi
The Uffizi Gallery , is a museum in Florence, Italy. It is one of the oldest and most famous art museums of the Western world.-History:...
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....
.
Background
This portrait uses oil paint on panel and portrays Giovanni di Cosimo de’ MediciGiovanni de' Medici (cardinal)
Giovanni di Cosimo I de' Medici , also known as Giovanni de' Medici the Younger, was an Italian cardinal.-Biography:...
. It was painted for his father, Cosimo I de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany. Bronzino was the official painter of the Medici Court from 1532 and did many portraits of Duke Cosimo I and his family. Cosimo had his portrait done by Bronzino around 1545, the Portrait of Cosimo I de’ Medici
Portrait of Cosimo I de' Medici
The Portrait of Cosimo I de' Medici is a painting by the Italian artist Agnolo di Cosimo, known as Bronzino, finished in 1545. It is housed in the Uffizi Gallery of Florence, Italy....
. Giovanni and his mother Eleonora of Toledo were the subjects of another portrait by Bronzino from around 1545 or 1546, the Portrait of Eleonora of Toledo and Her Son
Portrait of Eleonora of Toledo
The Portrait of Eleanor of Toledo and Her Son is a painting by the Italian artist Agnolo di Cosimo, known as Bronzino, finished c. 1545. It is housed in the Uffizi Gallery of Florence, Italy and is considered one of the preeminent examples of Mannerist portraiture...
.
Description and Analysis
An extended title for this portrait is the Portrait of Giovanni de’ Medici as a Child holding a Goldfinch. It was painted sometime between 1544 and 1545, based on the child’s age. Giovanni was born in the September of 1543 and this portrait depicts him at the age of eighteen months. He is wearing a pink doublet, which is painted with high detail. He holds a goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis) in his hand, which is a Christian symbol, because the goldfinch eats thistle seed and so is associated with ChristChrist
Christ is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
’s Crown of Thorns and the Passion. It appears in religious paintings to represent the knowledge of the future Crucifixion. Around his neck, he wears a gold chain with a coral and other charms. It was believed that coral
Coral
Corals are marine animals in class Anthozoa of phylum Cnidaria typically living in compact colonies of many identical individual "polyps". The group includes the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton.A coral "head" is a colony of...
could protect children from harm.
Unlike Bronzino’s other portraits that depict the sitters viewing the world with a distant, aristocratic disdain, Giovanni’s portrait is animated and engaging. The portraits of Cosimo’s other children are represented with the same emotionless faces as the adults. They do not show any of the children's personality and are very serious. Most of the portraits have the sitter with the body almost face-on, with a slight three-quarter turn of the head to the left. The sitter looks at the viewer and the dark backgrounds are unspecific. Giovanni’s portrait is quite different. It depicts an almost 2-year-old child cheerfully and realistically, with an accurate description of the morphology of a young child. Unlike the portraits of the duke’s other sons, it is cropped above the knee and the body is presented almost frontally with a slight turn to our left. The child is seated on dark-brown bench, with a dark green background that contrasts well with his pink clothes that are the same color as his coral charm. It is a natural depiction of early childhood with his chubby face and fingers. Two of his baby teeth are peeping out, and he has tufts of fine hair that all add to his delightful representation. His active expression is that of a young child as he smiles and gazes out at the viewer. Giovanni was the fourth and youngest child of Cosimo, and was portrayed differently than his brothers because his father had different goals for his life.. Years later, after Giovanni was became a cardinal at the age of seventeen, he had an allegorical portrait of himself also by Bronzino, called, Portrait of Giovanni de’ Medici as St. John the Baptist, which was painted between 1560 and 1562.
It was said a month after he was born, he was “beautiful and plump” (bello e grasso) and “like an angel from paradise”. In 1547, he was described as “the handsomest and happiest boy that ever was…” which certainly fits the portrayal of his character in this charming portrait.