Shirley Smith
Renaissance Art Historian
Tel. +44 (0)1728 638 271
Email. shirleypamsmith@gmail.com
Address.
The Garden House, Bruisyard,
Saxmundham, Suffolk, IP17 2ED
Duke Cosimo I de' Medici: A Machiavellian Prince
Image
In 1537 the 17 year old Cosimo de’ Medici was made Duke of Florence and became one of the most powerful rulers of Europe. Promoting his image of the just ruler and military leader he believed that the end justified the means, the epitome of Machiavelli’s Prince.
Agnolo Bronzino Venus Cupid and Time
(Allegory of Lust) 1540-45
Image source: Web Gallery of Art
This lecture will study his patronage of art and architecture, from the building of the Uffizi as a centre for bureaucratic control to the sophisticated and enigmatic works of Bronzino, Cellini and Ammannati.
Giorgio Vasari Galleria degli Uffizi (façade) 1560
Image source: Web Gallery of Art