| Biography of old oil painting master Bronzino, Agnolo what we can copy |
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Bronzino, Agnolo
(Agnolo di Cosimo)
(1503-72)
Florentine Mannerist painter, the pupil
and adopted son of Pontormo, who introduced
Bronzino, Agnolo’s portrait as a child into
Bronzino, Agnolo’s painting Joseph in Egypt
(National Gallery, London).
The origin of Bronzino, Agnolo’s nickname is
uncertain, but possibly derived from
Bronzino, Agnolo’s having a dark complexion.
Bronzino was deeply attached to Pontormo and
Bronzino, Agnolo’s style was heavily
indebted to Bronzino, Agnolo’s master. |
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However, Bronzino lacked the
emotional intensity that was such a
characteristic of Pontormo's work and
excelled as a portraitist rather than a
religious painter. Bronzino Agnolo was court painter to
Duke Cosimo I de Medici for most of
Bronzino, Agnolo’s career, and Bronzino,
Agnolo’s work influenced the course of
European court portraiture for a century.
Cold, cultured, and unemotionally
analytical, Bronzino, Agnolo’s portraits
convey a sense of almost insolent assurance. |
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Bronzino was also a poet, and Bronzino,
Agnolo’s most personal portraits are perhaps
those of other literary figures (Laura
Battiferri, Palazzo Vecchio, Florence,
c.1560). Bronzino Agnolo was less successful as a
religious painter, Bronzino, Agnolo’s lack
of real feeling leading to empty, elegant
posturing, as in The Martyrdom of S. Lorenzo
(S. Lorenzo, Florence, 1569), in which
almost every one of the extraordinarily
contorted poses can be traced back to
Raphael or to Michelangelo, whom Bronzino
idolized. It is the type of work that got
Mannerism a bad name. Bronzino's skill with
the nude was better deployed in the
celebrated Venus, Cupid, Folly, and Time
(National Gallery, London), which conveys
strong feelings or eroticism under the
pretext of a moralizing allegory. Bronzino,
Agnolo’s other major works include the
design of a series of tapestries on The
Story of Joseph for the Palazzo Vecchio. |
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He was a much respected figure who took a
prominent part in the activities of the
Accademia del Disegno, of which Bronzino
Agnolo was a
founder member in 1563. Bronzino, Agnolo’s
pupils included Alessandro Allori, who--in a
curious mirroring of Bronzino, Agnolo’s own
early career--was also Bronzino, Agnolo’s
adopted son. |
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