A Short Review: Bronzino exhibit at Palazzo Strozzi

Earlier this week, on a morning trip up to the Ferragamo Shoe Museum (which was closed, sadly), my mother and stumbled upon the exhibit, which we now see advertised all over town:

Bronzino. Artist and Poet at the Court of the Medici, at the Palazzo Strozzi.

The Palazzo Strozzi is a Rennaissance domestic dwelling comissioned by the Florentine merchant Filippo Strozzi. It was built in the 15th century and construction continued well into the next. As a piece of architecture, it is pretty magnificent, but it is also a temporary exhibition hall for art exhibits.

You can visit their website here.

The exhibit heavily featured the portraiture of Bronzino for the Duke Cosimo I de'Medici of Florence, from the 16th Century. The detailed work on the costume in the paintings is quite extraordinary, especially up close if you ever have the opportunity. This gives great insight not only into the silhouettes of the time period, but also into what rich fabrics were used to create such garments.

This portrait of Francesco I de'Medici, from 1551, shows the boy wearing a doublet with a rich brocade. The way it shines in the light, in the painting, is quite vivid.

Though you cannot tell from this image, this portrait of Maria I de'Medici, also from 1551, shows her wearing a gorgeous dark green velvet dress. It felt like you could reach out and touch real velvet.

In his Portrait of a Man (1550-55), the black damask cloak is particularly striking. 

One of Bronzino's most famous works (along with Elenora di Toledo with her son Giovanni, which I referenced in my last post) would be this: Lucrezia Panciatichi, 1541. In addition to the vivid color and sumptuous material, note that the construction on the dress is partially visible. The detail is incredible, right down to her necklace, which reads "amour dure sans fin."

The exhibit runs until Jan 23, 2011. The details can be found here.

We ended the afternoon at Caffe Scudieri. Est. Florence 1939. They have amazing candies and treats lined up in the windows, and the smell of the pastries is amazing. We sat down inside and had a cappuccino and I watched two tiny Italian women down espresso and TWO giant pastries each. Respect.