  
  About the Artwork
  
  
  The Medici, who had ruled Florence since the early fifteenth century, fell from power in 1529 following the siege of the city during the French Wars. A decade later, Cosimo I de&acirc;&#128;&#153; Medici restored security and prosperity to the city, while undertaking a military campaign to unify Tuscany under Medici rule. Grand Duke Cosimo and his successors were active patrons of the arts, enriching Tuscan cities with works of art and architecture, and reestablishing the capital city of Florence as a major cultural center.
Grand Duke Cosimo commissioned noted artists&acirc;&#128;&#148;the painter Bronzino and sculptors Giambologna and Bandini, among them&acirc;&#128;&#148;to create his official portraits. Giovanni Bandini executed five busts of Cosimo I to be placed above the portals of Florentine palaces as an honor granted to the important families who lived in them. In all examples, Cosimo is portrayed &acirc;&#128;&#156;all' antica,&acirc;&#128;&#157; wearing a mantle and cuirass in emulation of his ancient Roman Imperial antecedents. This bust epitomizes the dignified formal character of aristocratic portraiture in later sixteenth-century Italy.
  
  
  Title
  Bust of Cosimo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany
  
  
  Artwork Date
  ca. 1572
  
  Artist
  Giovanni Bandini
  
  
  
  Life Dates
  1540-1599
  
  
  
  
  Nationality
  
  
  
  Please note:
  Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events.
  Some definitions include:
  Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation.
  
  
  
  Italian
  
  
  
  Culture
  
  
  
  Please note:
  Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group.
  
  
  
  
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  Medium
  Marble bust on green marble socle
  
  
  Dimensions
  Overall: 32 &Atilde;&#151; 28 &Atilde;&#151; 10 inches (81.3 &Atilde;&#151; 71.1 &Atilde;&#151; 25.4 cm)
  
  
  Classification
  Sculpture
  
  
  Department
  European Sculpture and Dec Arts
  
  
  Credit
  Founders Society Purchase, Robert H. Tannahill Foundation Fund
  
  
  
  Accession Number
  
  
  
  This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection.
  Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum&acirc;&#128;&#153;s holdings.
  For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems&acirc;&#128;&#148;no longer assigned&acirc;&#128;&#148;that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups.
  
  
  
  1994.1
  
  
  Copyright
  Public Domain
  
  
  
