Portrait of Alessandro de' Medici

Gallery 351, European Art 1500-1850, third floor

Main Building

Portrait of Alessandro de' Medici

Before December 1535

Pontormo (Jacopo Carucci) (Italian (active Florence), 1494–1556/7)

Alessandro de’ Medici (born c. 1511), duke of Florence from 1530 until his assassination in 1537, is shown not as a powerful ruler, but in a private chamber making a drawing of a woman in metalpoint. At the time, drawing was considered an acceptable activity for a gentleman, but here the reference may be to love poetry. The fourteenth-century poet Petrarch, who enjoyed a revival in readership in the early sixteenth century, wrote sonnets about a metalpoint drawing he owned of his beloved Laura.

Gallery 351, European Art 1500-1850, third floor

Object Details

Title:

Portrait of Alessandro de' Medici

Date:

Before December 1535

Artist:

Pontormo (Jacopo Carucci) (Italian (active Florence), 1494–1556/7)

Medium:

Oil on panel

Dimensions:

39 7/8 × 32 1/4 × 1 1/8 inches (101.3 × 81.9 × 2.8 cm)

Classification:

Paintings

Credit Line:

John G. Johnson Collection, 1917

Accession Number:

Cat. 83

Geography:

Made in Florence, Italy, Europe

Provenance

We are always open to learning more about our collections and updating the website. Does this record contain inaccurate information or language that you feel we should improve or change? Contact us here.

Please note that this particular artwork might not be on view when you visit. Don’t worry—we have plenty of exhibitions for you to explore.

Gallery 351, European Art 1500-1850, third floor

Main Building

Museum map