Jacopo da Pontormo (Jacopo Carrucci; Italian, 1494-1557)
Alessandro de' Medici
INV-1107
Jacopo da Pontormo (Jacopo Carrucci; Italian, 1494-1557)1534–35
Alessandro de' Medici
Jacopo da Pontormo (Jacopo Carrucci; Italian, 1494-1557) →16th Centurysixteenth centuryRenaissanceoil on paneloil paintings (visual works)
Date
1534–35
Medium
Oil on panel
Dimensions
35.3 × 25.8 cm (13 7/8 × 10 1/8 in.); Framed: 47.7 × 42 × 6.1 cm (18 3/4 × 16 1/2 × 2 3/8 in.)
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Location
Chicago, IL
Credit
Mr. and Mrs. Martin A. Ryerson Collection
This painting is a preliminary study of Alessandro de’ Medici that Jacopo da Pontormo and his workshop could consult during the creation of larger, formal portraits. Born the illegitimate child of Pope Clement VII and an enslaved African woman named Simonetta, Alessandro was appointed Duke of Florence in 1529. Known as “il Moro” (the Moor), then a common descriptor for people of African descent, his attempts to centralize authority fueled his reputation as a shrewd but tyrannical ruler. His short-lived reign ended with his assassination at his cousin’s hand.
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