Agnolo Bronzino (1503-1572)

Italian painter Agnolo Bronzino is known for his mannerist-style portraits and was the most influential painter in Florence during the reign of Cosimo I de Medici, the first Grand Duke of Tuscany. Bronzino's portraits were much admired by Florentine nobility and thus were imitated by numerous artists. Born Agnolo di Cosimo, it is unknown how he received the nickname of Bronzino, but some think it is derived from his dark complexion or from that he gave many of his portrait subjects.

In addition to being the official painter fin the court of the Duke, Bronzino portraits featured static and stylish figures, unemotional and haughty, and this motif influenced the course of European court portraiture for a century. Bronzino's religious paintings conveyed his trademark aloofness, resulting in a lack of feeling despite the elegant postures.

Bronzino had better success painting nudes, such as in the celebrated Venus, Cupid, Folly and Time, which carries the erotic emotion under a pretext of a moral allegory. His other major works include frescoes for the chapel in Florence, a series of tapestries, and works of poetry.

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