Bronzino (Agnolo di Cosimo di Mariano)

Born the son of a butcher in Florence, his real name was Agnolo di Cosimo. His nickname 'Bronzino' is thought to refer to his dark skin or reddish hair.¹

Apprenticed to the Mannerist master Pontormo at 14, Bronzino was greatly influenced by him but developed a more calm and reserved style compared to his teacher's emotional agitation.¹

He maintained a lifelong collaboration with his master Pontormo; their styles in the Capponi Chapel are so similar that scholars still debate specific attributions.¹

From his late 30s, he served as the official court painter for Cosimo I de' Medici, producing numerous portraits of the family, including copies used as diplomatic gifts.¹

He created fascinating 'allegorical portraits,' such as depicting Admiral Andrea Doria as a nude Neptune, placing a recognized personality in a mythical guise.¹

In the 1540s, he decorated the Chapel of Eleonora di Toledo in the Palazzo Vecchio, shifting his style toward a highly stylized and elegant courtly Mannerism.¹

In 'Venus, Cupid, Folly and Time,' he combined sophisticated eroticism with complex Mannerist composition under the pretext of a moralizing allegory.¹

In his portrait of Eleonora di Toledo, the minute detail of her dress is so sumptuous that scholars once debated if the garment was a product of the artist's imagination.¹

As a founding member of the Florentine Accademia delle Arti del Disegno in 1563, he took a prominent part in the city's artistic institutional activities late in life.¹

He idolized Michelangelo; in his late work 'The Martyrdom of St. Lawrence,' almost every contorted pose can be traced back to Raphael or Michelangelo.¹