Post on 30-Mar-2023
Matthew Hales Prof. Kristin CollinsArt 111May 9, 2013
Venus, Cosimo, Francis, and Time
Agnolo Bronzino’s The Exposure of Luxury (Fig. 1), an oil painting done in 1546, is a
work that has sparked an engaging iconographic debate. The difficulty in identifying each
mythological or symbolic character in the work together with an inability to understand the
action taking place makes the piece an incredibly interesting and cryptic work. In order to
understand the subject of the painting, Bronzino’s motivations for creating it must be examined.
The Exposure of Luxury was sent as a gift from Cosimo I d’Medici to Francis I of France, a
strange gesture since Italy and France were at war in 1546. I suggest Cosimo’s decision to give
Bronzino’s work to Francis I is a result of Cosimo’s own desires for power and independence.
Cosimo exploited the explosive political nature of the time to fortify his political position and his
gift to Francis I was made with the intention of creating a positive relationship with France. In
addition, Cosimo used his knowledge of Francis’ artistic preferences to select a work that he
knew the French king would be enamored of.
Bronzino’s early work was heavily influenced by the court of Cosimo I d’Medici. He
was employed by Cosimo from 1539 to 1560 as a court painter and tapestry designer. Many of
his early works were portraits of Cosimo or other members of the Medici circle, beginning with
his portrait of the Cosimo as Orpheus in 1539.1 To understand Bronzino’s work for Cosimo, it is
crucial to understand his employer. Cosimo was an enormously active patron, gathering a
1 Acidini, Luchinat C. The Medici, Michelangelo, & the Art of Late Renaissance Florence. (New Haven: Yale University Press in association with the Detroit Institute of Arts, 2002), 35
number of notable artists into his court, such as Jacopo Pontormo, Agnolo Bronzino, Francisco
Salvati, and Giorio Vasari. These artists received many commissions from Cosimo, a large
number of which were political in nature.2 Cosimo understood the power of artwork, and used it
as an effective tool to communicate his legitimacy to the public. “The Duke’s cultural patronage
in general and of art in particular was fueled by a need to shore up his young regime and to
legitimize his right to the Florentine dukedom.”3 Several scholars have noted that Cosimo was
very calculating in his use of artwork and have likened his use of the medium to propaganda.4
The Exposure of Luxury then must fit into this tradition of art as a political tool. Giorgi
Vasari asserted that the painting was sent to King Francis I of France; a statement Erwin
Panofsky supported.5 Panofsky believed the painting began life as a cartoon for a tapestry that
Cosimo deemed so beautiful it should be a turned into a painting instead and given to Francis I.
Panofsky said of Cosimo’s decision, “We can readily understand that the Grand Duke chose this
picture as a present for his most valued ally.”6 This anecdote however is of Panofsky’s
invention, and it is not known whether the painting was completed before Cosimo stipulated its
intended purpose as a gift to Francis I. Although it may seem an innocent gift between two
political figures, the examination of the relationship between Francis I and the Italian state
complicates the motivations of such an action.
2 Acidini, Luchinat C., 35-37
3 Acidini, Luchinat C., 37
4 Kent, D V. Cosimo De' Medici and the Florentine Renaissance: The Patron's Oeuvre. (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2000), 347
5 DeAngelis, Adrienne, ed. “Giorgio Vasari’s Lives of the Artists.” On the Academy of Design <http://members.efn.org/~acd/vite/VasariDesign.html>
6 Panofsky, Erwin. Studies in Iconology: Humanistic Themes in the Art of the Renaissance. (New York: Harper & Row, 1962), 91
Francis I was King of France from 1515-1547. He often warred with the Holy Roman
Emperor Charles V and notably fought for control of Italy from 1542 to his death in 1547.7
Although Panofsky stated Francis I was “his most valued ally,” there is no concrete evidence that
Cosimo allied himself directly with Francis I. At the beginning of the conflict, Cosimo
supported Charles V. “Abandoning the traditional Florentine policy of alliance with France,
Cosimo throughout his reign threw himself heart and soul on the side of the Emperor.”8 Charles
V needed monetary help during the conflict, and Cosimo provided it with the stipulation that
Charles V withdraw troops from Florence, with the intention of forming a more independent
Florentine government.9 Near the end of the conflict, Cosimo had succeeded in separating
himself from Charles V and the Holy Roman Empire. Cosimo instructed his ambassador in 1545
to tell Francis I that, “We are a ruler who accepts the authority of no one apart from God.”10
The Duke seemed to want to break away from Charles V in the conflict, but Cosimo
consistently allied himself with the emperor. Any alliance Cosimo established with Francis I
must have happened in secret. This is actually a possibility, as Cosimo was incredibly secretive
in both his private life and his dealings with government officials.11 Regardless, public
correspondence at this time with Francis I was represented to the world as purely commercial
with no direct political overtones.12 If an alliance was made between Francis I and Cosimo, it
7 "Francis I." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online Academic Edition. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2013. Web. 05 Apr. 2013. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/216656/Francis-I>
8 Young, G F. The Medici. (New York: E.P. Dutton, 1926), 248
9Young, G F., 248
10Hale, J R. Florence and the Medici: The Pattern of Control. (London: Thames and Hudson, 1977), 129
11 Hibbert, Christopher. The House of Medici: Its Rise and Fall. New York: Morrow, 1975), 268
12 Hale, J R., 129
was with the intention to separate Florence from the influence of the Holy Roman Empire.
However, there is still no direct evidence that this alliance occurred. Cosimo’s decision to give
Francis I The Exposure of Luxury must be an example of the Duke’s desire to strengthen
congenial relationships with other nations and distance himself from Charles V, with whom
Francis I was currently in battle.
It is also a possibility that Cosimo’s gift is a result of the familial connections between
Francis I and the Medici. By 1546, two distinct marriages between the family of Francis I and
the Medici had occurred. In 1518, Francis I and Pope Leo X arranged the marriage between
Lorenzo II d’Medici and Madeline de la Tour Auvergne, who was the cousin of Francis I.13
Lorenzo II and Madeline had a daughter, Catherine d’Medici, the next year. A mere 14 years
later, Francis I contracted a marriage between Catherine d’Medici and his son, Henry II.14 These
matches, and especially the second in particular, were political in nature and sought to improve
relations between the Pope and France. “The political import of the match (of Catherine and
Henry) was thus congenial to both the king and the pope.”15 It is important than to consider that
the Medici family had a recent history of marriage with the family of Francis I at the time
Cosimo sent Exposure to France. Thus it is possible that the gift may have been a result of
feelings of obligation or connection to Francis I.
Regardless of the motive, the style and origin of the painting was clearly selected by
Cosimo to please Francis I. The french King was an enormous patron of the arts, being
particularly fond of Italian artists. Francis I invited Leonardo da Vinci to live and work in France
13 Hibbert, Christopher, 235
14 Hale, J R, 167
15 Hale, J R, 167
at the end of the painter’s life,16 and a legend developed that Leonardo da Vinci died in the
presence of Francis I, although the king actually was elsewhere.17 The painting Leonardo da
Vinci Dying in the Arms of Francis I (Fig. 2) by Guiseppe Cades depicts this mythical scene. In
addition to being interested in Italian art, Francis I was also a passionate supporter of tapestry.
He owned no fewer than 213 tapestries, and in 1540 he established a tapestry workshop at
Fontainbleau.18 Francis I had an enormous collection of art, and notably, many of the pieces of
his collection were political in nature. “Some of the most important works in Francis I’s art
collection were diplomatic gifts.”19
Cosimo had to have been aware of Francis I’s affinity for Italian artwork and tapestry as
well. The Duke payed keen attention to detail, and “if there were gaps in his knowledge, he was
prepared to fill them; and once filled they were filled forever, for his memory was astonishingly
retentive.”20 So in selecting an artistic gift, he would have kept the French king’s affinities in
mind. Bronzino was an artist with an education that came from a long line of Italian artists. His
training began under Jacopo Pontormo of Florence, and the influence of Pontormo certainly had
an impact on the style of Bronzino. As Giorio Vasari stated, “Agnolo, then, having been many
years with Pontormo, as has been told, caught his manner so well, and so imitated his works, that
their pictures have been taken very often one for the other.”21 Pontormo was himself influenced
16 Richardson, Glenn. Renaissance Monarchy: The Reigns of Henry Viii, Francis I and Charles V. (London: Arnold, 2002), 184
17 Knecht, R J. The French Renaissance Court, 1483-1589. (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 2008), 170
18 Knecht, R J. 196-198
19 Knecht, R J., 193
20 Hibbert, Christopher, 262
21 DeAngelis, Adrienne, ed. “Giorgio Vasari’s Lives of the Artists.” On the Academy of Design <http://members.efn.org/~acd/vite/VasariDesign.html>
by Michelangelo and worked with several of Michalangelo’s cartoons. Pontormo would turn one
of these cartoons into a painting, Venus and Cupid, (Fig. 3) in 1533. This painting is closely
related to Bronzino’s The Exposure of Luxury. In fact, Bronzino had a chance to interact with
Pontormo’s Venus and Cupid. “The cartoon was the basis for a painting by Pontormo which was
intended to be the centrepiece of a room also decorated with portraits...to be painted by
Bronzino.”22
It is therefore likely that Bronzino took influence from Pontormo, and by extension
Michelangelo. The Exposure of Luxury is a painting that is the result of the work of several
famous Italian, specifically Florentine, artists. Francis I would have been very pleased with the
work, especially because most of the artists in his collection were Florentines.23 He was
especially enamored of Michelangelo, and twice invited the artist to come to France. It is
possible Cosimo knew of the King’s love for Michelangelo’s work and decided to give The
Exposure of Luxury to Francis I because of the painting’s background. However, this is
speculation. The painting would have also been appealing to Francis I because of Bronzino’s
experience as a tapestry designer.24 In fact, beginning in 1545 (one year before The Exposure of
Luxury was completed), Bronzino began work on the Story of Joseph tapestries, a series of
twenty tapestries about the biblical figure of Joseph. From 1545 to 1553, Bronzino designed
sixteen of these tapestries, Pontormo designed three, and Salviati designed one.25 At the time
22 Keach, William. “Cupid Disarmed, or Venus Wounded? An Ovidian Source for Michaelangelo and Bronzino.”Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institues, 41 (1978): pp 327
23 Knecht, R J., 196
24 Murray, Linda. The High Renaissance and Mannerism: Italy, the North, and Spain, 1500-1600. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1977), 159
25 Cox-Rearick, Janet. “Friendly Rivals: Bronzino and Salviati at the Medici Court, 1543-48.” Master Drawings, 43.3 (2005): pp 306-307.
Bronzino was working on The Exposure, he was hard at work designing a number of tapestries.
He was therefore an excellent candidate to create a work for the tapestry-loving Francis I.
Although Cosimo allied with Charles V, the sworn enemy of Francis I of France, the
Duke chose to give King Francis I The Exposure of Luxury in the height of the conflict. The
motivations for this gift are hard to determine, especially due to Cosimo’s secretive nature.
Cosimo was separating himself from Charles V’s influence at the time, so he may have been
attempting to creating a positive diplomatic relation with his “enemy’s enemy”, so to speak. By
crafting and sustaining a relationship with France, Charles V’s enemy, Cosimo would have
placed Florence further from the Holy Roman Emperor’s control. Whatever the motive for doing
so, it is clear that Cosimo aimed to please the King’s artistic sensibilities. The painting was the
product of the notable Florentine artists Michelangelo, Pontormo, and Bronzino. Francis I’s love
for Florentine art and especially his interest in Michelangleo ensured his enjoyment of the piece.
Coupled with Bronzino’s work as a tapestry designer and Francis I’s love for tapestry, Cosimo
selected a work which was sure to be an object of allure for the French King.
Fig. 2: Guiseppe Cades, Leonardo da Vinci Dying in the Arms of Francis I (1750-1799)
Fig. 3: Jacopo Pontormo, Venus and Cupid (1533)
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