AGNOLO ALLORI dit « il BRONZINO ». (1503-1572),... Lot n° 25

Portrait of Isabella de 'Medici Oil on canvas Mark C.P. on the canvas on the back. Size: 67.5 x 53.5 cm "This magnificent portrait painted by the Tuscan master at the height of his maturity, belongs to the great series of portraits painted by Agnolo Allori, known as Il Bronzino, when his style was asserting itself in the perfection of regular and crystalline motifs. The pure oval of the face, which culminates in the very high hairstyle, the clearly defined oval bulb of the eyes, the rigorous marble neck, the static pose of the slender hand, all contribute to that expression of immobility, impassivity and almost impersonal beauty, which is the unmistakable stylistic mark of Bronzino at the time of his full maturity. Imitating the Flemish masters in the subtlety of their execution, he sprinkles the marvellous lace collar with tiny lights, which opens like a fairy tale behind the royal head, shining and rigid. The soft hand caressed by the light on the silky epidermis and the flash of tawny hair illuminated by the sun show us how even the aristocratic stylist Bronzino was no stranger to the influence of the civilization that came to Tuscany in the second half of the 16th century. And to make this work a masterpiece, the chromatic elision, the harmony between the fiery red of the hair and the havana purple red of the dress that shines in the light add to the formal perfection." Adolfo Venturi. Provenance: Important Luzio Crastan collection (founder of the Crastan company). Galerie Fischer, Luzern, dispersion of the Luzio Crastan collection, winter 1967 Since then, private collection in Aarau Switzerland and Monte Carlo Documentation: Bill of lading Galerie Fischer, Luzern, December 2, 1967. Handwritten certificate in Italian by Professor Adolfo Venturi (1856-1941), art historian, founder of the historical-artistic discipline at the university level in Italy, his greatest project was to write the monumental history of Italian art, which he did not complete, stopping at the 16th century. Book: Adolfo Venturi, Storia dell'arte italiana (1901-1938) 16 volumes. Biography: Italian Mannerist painter, adopted son and apprentice of Pontorno, pupil of Girolamo Genga, Agnolo Allori or di Cosimo owes his nickname "il Bronzino" to his dark complexion or hair color. His pupil and adopted son, Alessandro Allori, had the same nickname. In his early years, he helped his master Pontorno with important commissions such as the frescoes in the Charterhouse of Galluzzo, but, having become independent, he was called by the Della Rovere family to the Court of the Duchy of Urbino in 1530 and painted his first portraits. To the almost obsessive care of the drawing that characterises Pontormo's works, he adds a very particular treatment of colour, which he spreads in a clear and compact, almost glazed way. In Pessaro, he decorated the imperial villa and then returned to Florence where Pontorno asked him to paint portraits of Ugolino Martelli, Bartolomeo Panciatichi and his wife. In 1539 he entered the service of the Medici for the decorations of the wedding of Como and Eleonora of Toledo, for whom he decorated an entire chapel in the Palazzo Vecchio and whose portrait he painted in 1545. His portraits offer the official image of the Medici court. They are the expression of an aristocratic power, free from material contingencies. His two clearly Mannerist works are "La Déploration sur le Christ mort" (1543-1545) and "Allegory of the Triumph of Venus" (in the National Gallery in London), the content of which Erwin Panofsky skilfully deciphered. He then executed numerous tapestry cartoons. We also owe him the portrait of the poetess Laura Battiferri in 1560, following the canons imposed by the Counter-Reformation, but his last outstanding work was the fresco of the Martyrdom of Saint Lawrence in the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence.