Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Il Bronzino

Agnolo di Cosimo ( Agnolo di Cosimo di Mariano Tori, 1503-1572),  more popularly known as Bronzino, was a Florentine painter whose polished and elegant portraits are outstanding examples of the Mannerist style in the middle of the 16th century.Holy Family with St. Anne and the infant St. John

 

An Italian Mannerist painter from Florence, his classic embodiments of the courtly ideal under the Medici dynasty, influenced European court portraiture for the next century.Portrait of Bartolomeo Panciatichi

 

He trained with Pontormo, the leading Florentine painter of the first generation of Mannerism.Chapel of Eleonora da Toledo

 

Bronzino lived all his life in Florence, and from his late 30s was kept busy as the court painter of Cosimo I de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany.Cosimo de Medici in Armour

 

He became the official portraitist for the Medici dynasty and soon went to work painting the portraits of the ruling family members, which he is largely known for, and which is Bronzino’s greatest contribution to Mannerism.The Holy Family with the Infant Saint John the Baptist

 

His portrait figures – often read as static, elegant, and stylish exemplars of unemotional haughtiness and assurance – influenced the course of European court portraiture for a century.Eleanor of Toledo and her son Giovanni de’ Medici

 

These paintings, especially those of the duchess, are known for their minute attention to the detail of her costumes, which almost takes on a personality of its own.Portrait of a Young Man

 

His work is clean and crisp, a major accomplishment for his time.Venus, Cupid, Folly, and Time

 

More of Agnolo Bronzino‘s amazing paintings can be found at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronzino and https://www.britannica.com/biography/Il-Bronzino.