This book makes no pretence of being a definitive study of either the life or the work of Bronzino. Although it is surprising that no monograph in English has appeared on the artist since McComb's Agnolo Bronzino, His Life and Works of 1928, any student who turns to the existing literature will immediately see why. Bronzino is not an easy artist to understand, and still less easy to explain. The little of his personality which emerges from his paintings, poetry, letters and other contemporary documents is not especially inspiring; unexpectedly, in view of his cold, calculated style, the one feature which remains constant throughout all accounts of him is his warmth and kindness to others, notably Pontormo. ...

Few painters could be said to have shaped posterity's image of a particular, society agai nst the historical and social background as did Bronzino.His portraits,religious subjects and mythological scenes seem to crystallise the urbanity, luxury, elegant erudition and cruelty of the Italian mid-sixteenth century mannerist style.

A pupil of the religious painter Pontormo,Bronzino worked predominantly at the Court of Cosimo de'Medici in Florence, creating an artistic approach to the real and ideal that was praised by his contemporary, Vasari, as the epitome of all that had been achieved by his predecessors Michelangelo, Raphael and Leonardo. Yet later criticism of Bronzino's art reflected a general lack of understanding and appreciation for this period as a whole, giving vent to the idea that his work wa.s over stylised and esoteric.

In this lucid and carefully researched study,Charles McCorquodale succeeds in presenting this difficult artist and his relationship to contemporary art in Florence in a manner that simultaneously unravels and dispels many of the misunderstandings of Bronzino's oeuvre.The author clearly shows that the artist's own claim to have been the last great painter of the Florentine Renaissance is fundamentally true;as a portraitist he stands amongst Titian,Rubens and Ingres; as a colourist his palette,of radiant hues and deep tonality places his work within a category of sophistication unprecedented during the Renaissance and scarcely equalled since.

FOREWORD

I INTRODUCTION

II THE PESARO VISIT

III CONSOLIDATION 1532-37

IV COURT PAINTER TO THE MEDICI

V MATURITY

VI THE FINAL YEARS

VII CONCLUSION

APPENDIX I

APPENDIX II

BIBLIOGRAPHY

INDEX