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 1: Agnolo Bronzino, The Exposure of Luxury (1546)

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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