The Medici, a family who made their fortune through banking, were the powerhouse of the Renaissance movement.1 Cosimo I de’ Medici was heavily involved with the arts and commissioned many works that featured Medici members. Bronzino, a Renaissance era artist, became the court painter to the Medici family; and being an excellent draftsman, he was able to capture the delicate details of fashion such as the sheen of a fabric or the luster of a metal or a precious jewel.2 Because of Bronzino’s skill we are able to investigate the various sewing techniques of the day, as well as fabric and trims. To frame a perfect example of the Medici family, the portrait of Bronzino’s Eleanor of Toledo and Son Giovanni will be used, a seemingly favorite piece of the art enthusiast.3
Florence was a key city for producing silk and wool which were typical in Renaissance fashion.4 Cosimo I was connected to both the silk guild (Arte della Seta) and wool guild (Arte della Lana). He would have been heavily invested in what was taking place in the industry based on the importance of fashion during the Renaissance period. Elizabeth Currie mentions how fashion is applicable to “all the major historical debates of the period” as well as “reflected in the interdisciplinary nature of the scholarship.”5
1 Hartt, Frederick. Et al. History of Italian Renaissance Art, pg. 160. Prentice Hall Upper Saddle River, NJ, 2007.
2 Hartt, F. Et al. pg. 669, 2007.
3 It is speculated that within the Medici portraits their branding is visible and although there is not at this time any conclusive evidence of this historians believe there can be further speculation on this idea with the iconography mentioned in Eleanor of Toledo and Son Giovanni as well as the fact that Cosimo de’ Medici was involved in both the silk guild (Arte della Seta) and the wool guild (Arte della Lana).
4 Hayward, Maria. "Textiles." A Cultural History of Dress and Fashion in the Renaissance, edited by Elizabeth Currie, 19–36. The Cultural Histories Series. London: Bloomsbury Academic 2017. http://dx.doi.org.proxy108.nclive.org/10.5040/9781474206419.ch-001.
5Currie, Elizabeth.“Introduction.” In A Cultural History of Dress and Fashion in the Renaissance, edited byElizabeth Currie, pg.1–18. The Cultural Histories Series. London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2017 http://dx.doi.org.proxy108.nclive.org/10.5040/9781474206419.0004
Commenti