The Medici: Portraits And Politics 1512-1570

Exhibition at the Met Fifth Avenue, New York, 26 June - 11 October 2021

The Medici family ruled Florence continuously between 1434 and 1494, but after his return to power in 1512, Cosimo I de' Medici demonstrated an unprecedented ability to wield culture as a political tool. His reign transformed Florence into a dynastic duchy and gave Florentine art the central position it has occupied ever since. Cosimo I called on the leading intellectuals and artists of his time and promoted great architectural, technical and artistic projects. Some of the greatest portraits in Western art were painted in Florence during this period.

Written by a team of leading international authors, this exhibition catalogue offers an in-depth exploration of the various new and complex ways in which artists portrayed the elite of Medici Florence and the political and cultural ambitions of their models during this decisive period in the city's history. It brings together more than ninety works - paintings, sculptures, medals, drawings, engravings and manuscripts - by the most famous artists of the period, from Raphael, Jacopo Pontormo and Rosso Fiorentino to Benvenuto Cellini, Agnolo Bronzino and Francesco Salviati.