Monday, September 27, 2010

Bronzino: Painter and Poet

A new exhibit on the Medici court painter, Bronzino, has opened at Palazzo Strozzi in Florence. "Bronzino: Artist and Poet at the Court of the Medici" runs through January 23, 2011 and features 70 paintings by the artist himself, as well as some of his poetic works. The show, which traces Bronzino's development throughout his career, includes many of his most famous works on loan from some of the world's leading museums.

If you click on the "Exhibition" tab at the Strozzi website, and then on "Sections," you can examine paintings from different periods of his life in great resolution. In addition, Alexandra Korey has posted a wonderful video review on her website, Tuscany Arts.

Bronzino is well-known for his exquisite portraits of the Medici family. I have a special fondness for him as the artist of the portrait I used on the "virtual cover" I created for my first novel a few years ago (follow-up post here). The novel I'm working on now centers on French portraitists, and Bronzino warrants a brief mention there, also. I so admire these artists who were able capture likenesses with such accuracy and can only imagine how amazing their portraits must have seemed in the days before photography.

4 comments:

alexandra korey said...

Thanks Julianne for linking to my review post! It is indeed a wonderful exhibit. I'll be writing more about Bronzino this month so if you can't make it to Florence, at least you can enjoy reading about him.

Julianne Douglas said...

Looking forward to reading more!

Svea Love said...

This has always been a portrait that I can stare at for quite a while. Thanks for sharing all of these links!

Julianne Douglas said...

Bronzino's technique is simply amazing. I love looking at portraits and imagining the personalities of the people depicted. The skill of the portraitist must have seemed almost magical to people of the early modern era. Photography has made it so easy for us to capture images of our loved ones that I think it's hard to appreciate now how prized portraits must have been to those of earlier times.

I'm glad you enjoyed the links!