The secret of Agnolo Bronzino's "living" portraits: How the artist managed to tell the stories of alienated figures

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Not that Agnolo Bronzino's paintings inspired awe and awakened fears about portraits that came to life - no, and yet one cannot but agree that the images and faces he created make a strong impression. As if frozen for a moment, without complaining or disturbing the viewer studying these paintings, they seem surprisingly alive, despite the fact that they left this world more than four centuries ago. Sometimes it becomes possible to learn about the fate, usually unhappy, of those whom Bronzino wrote, and in an amazing way, as if predicted in the portraits.

From frescoes to portraits

Almost the entire life of Agnolo Bronzino, who may have received such a nickname due to his dark complexion or red hair, was spent in Florence. He was born in 1503, went to study with the artist Raffaellino, and then with Jacopo Pontormo, one of the founders of Mannerism. Bronzino was a favorite student of Pontormo, and in the twenties of the 16th century they worked together on painting the walls of churches, creating altar paintings and works of a religious and mythological nature. Bronzino, of course, reproduced the manner of the teacher, therefore, in some cases, art critics even find it difficult to accurately attribute the works.

And in 1532 Agnolo Bronzino had a chance to paint a portrait of the Urbino duke Francesco I della Rovere, and from that time the artist worked mainly as a portrait painter. Soon, his style developed and became recognizable: the faces in the portraits retained a special, detached expression, but, nevertheless, left the opportunity to see the character, behind the external coldness to discern anxiety, despair, firmness or doom.

At the end of the thirties, the artist was already in the service of the Duke Cosimo I of Medici, for decades not only finding himself connected with working and creative relations with his house, but also plunging into the intrigues, secrets and dramas of the Florentine aristocracy, which was reflected in the portraits. From under Bronzino's brush came one after another images of members of the Medici family and the duke's entourage. Surprisingly, despite the fact that the picturesque images of aristocrats were created to order, Bronzino did not leave the muses and inspiration when writing these paintings: apparently, life itself at court created a favorable creative atmosphere. Suffice it to say that many members of the ruling family and those close to him were sent to the next world for reasons beyond their control and often prematurely. Creating portraits, the artist seemed to be trying to guess the fate of his model - and, apparently, he succeeded.

"Living" and silent portraits

Already around 1540, shortly after receiving the title of court portraitist, Bronzino created paired images of one of the high-ranking officials and his wife. Lucrezia Panchatica, the wife of the Duke's ambassador to France, gives the impression of a firm and determined woman, not inclined, however, to reveal her secrets. The pose of the model is tense, and even traces of some obsession are visible in her expression. The neck is adorned with a medallion with an inscription in French that reads "Love lasts forever." In Italy, nothing good awaited them; the couple was persecuted by the Holy Inquisition. As a result, the Panchatics publicly renounced their new faith.

In Bronzino's workshop, portraits of the Medici's wife and children were repeatedly created. One of the most touching was, perhaps, the portrait of Eleanor Toledskaya with her son Giovanni. Eleanor, daughter of the Viceroy of Naples, became the wife of Cosimo I de Medici and gave birth to eleven children in marriage with him. Giovanni, the second son, is depicted in the portrait next to his mother, she hugs the child, but it is clear that this does not bring a sense of security to the boy. Eleanor wears jewelry made from her favorite pearls, a dress made of heavy and expensive fabric, decorated with fancy embroidery. About this dress, a whole discussion unfolded among art critics - some argued that after the birth of the portrait, the duchess especially fell in love with this outfit and even ordered to bury her in this attire, and according to another opinion, Bronzino invented both the dress and the pattern, having achieved such amazing authenticity only thanks to its unrivaled ability to be precise in detail.

Eleanor's face looks calm - like all models on the artist's canvases, but the one who notices the anxiety and tension in her eyes will not be mistaken. Eleanor was destined to lose her son and die shortly after him. These sudden deaths gave rise to various rumors - that era was a century of poisons and political intrigue, but modern research has made it possible to establish that the mother and son died about malaria. Strange, but in the portrait, painted long before this sad event, the background is decorated with a swamp.

Views from portraits

Bronzino loved to paint portraits of children and adolescents, primarily the sons and daughters of the Duke of Medici, whom he served. In the period from 1555 to 1565, a portrait of Lucretia was created. After the death of her older sister, who was believed to have been killed by her father in a fit of rage, she inherited her engagement to Duke Alfonso II d'Este, whom she married at the age of thirteen. Three years later, Lucretia died, having died either from poison or from tuberculosis. One gets the impression that life in general was harsh with members of this aristocratic family, especially with children. Isabella's younger sister was strangled by a jealous husband, and the brother, in turn, himself dealt with the unfaithful or slandered wife. Interestingly, no one was held responsible for the massacre, Francesco I, the new duke, announced that in both cases the punishment was deserved.

In 1545, Bronzino painted a portrait of another Medici daughter, illegitimate and illegitimate, named Bia (Bianca). She was born before marriage, and who the mother was, remains unknown. The girl lived only five years and also died suddenly. Bronzino was commissioned to paint a portrait of Bianca after her death. The painting depicts a precious medallion with a portrait in profile of the girl's father, Duke Cosimo I of Medici. In addition to portraits in their classical form, Agnolo Bronzino created many allegorical images of those whom he served and those whom he was inspired and admired. The artist was guided by the work of Michelangelo - this can be traced in the works of Bronzino, in particular, in the famous "Holy Family with the Child John the Baptist", where the images of the Virgin Mary, Joseph and Christ were written with a clear desire to show their resemblance to the duke's family.

Bronzino's portraits are remarkable in that the faces on them seem to offer or even ask to see their history. Sometimes, as in the case of well-known representatives of the aristocracy, it is not difficult to do this, sometimes everything remains on the conscience of the viewer, who opens up a wide scope for conjectures and assumptions. Aniolo Bronzino gained fame as an outstanding artist and brilliant portrait painter during his lifetime; he became one of the founders of the Florentine Academy of Arts. The last years of his life he spent in the house of his nephew and beloved student Alessandro Allori, also a great portrait painter.

About the Titans of the High Renaissance: here.