Scipione Pulzone (1544 - 1598), bottega

Scipione Pulzone, known as Il Gaetano (Gaeta 1544 - Rome 1598) - workshop of Portrait of Bianca Cappello (Venice, 1548 - 1587) Grand Duchess of Tuscany, second wife of Francesco I de' Medici Second half of the 16th century oil on canvas, cm. 70 x 56 cm, framed 103 x 87 cm Full details of the work at this link The proposed painting illustrates the portrait of Bianca Cappello (Venice, 1548 - 1587), a noblewoman of Venetian origins, second wife of the Grand Duke of Tuscany Francesco I de' Medici, whose expressive force is skillfully highlighted by the composite cut of a slight three-quarters, with her head and gaze directed at the observer. The beam of light coming from the right plastically highlights the volumes of the face and lingers on the features, highlighted by the wide white lace ruff that surrounds her neck and the details of the precious clothing. Bianca wears a dark red dress, perhaps a zimarra, embroidered in gold with a deep neckline and a raised collar of the shirt gathered into a ruff and also bordered by precious lace, embroidered with the Florentine lily motif. The noblewoman's favorite jewels were pearls: we see them on a choker that adorns the neckline, in the earrings and also in the hairstyle, which sees her hair gathered at the nape of her neck and adorned with a string of small black pearls and embellished with a clasp. This is a painting of a high quality level that can be ascribed to the workshop of the painter Scipione Pulzone known as il Gaetano, best representing a pictorial genre, that of portraiture, in which the master excelled. This attribution would be confirmed by comparisons with the numerous portraits that Pulzone dedicated to the Medici family. Our painting, in particular, could represent one of the versions that the workshop replicated, at the request of numerous art collector clients eager to own a portrait of one of the most influential personalities of the Florentine scene. The characters designed by Pulzone were icons of incomparable elegance: noblewomen, knights and religious figures lent their features to the artist's eye who knew how to capture every minute detail with his superb technique. A photographic abundance and a surprising material attention that reflect the pictorial prototypes of Flemish inspiration, in particular by Antonis Mor (Utrecht 1520 - Antwerp 1578), who also worked in Rome, and who will give Pulzone the appellation of "Van Dyck of the Roman school". HIs portraits are capable of highlighting the characteristic signs of the exercise of power, both in the clothes and in the attributes, and in the expression of the face and in the pose. The aristocrats appear to us as figures fully aware of their social status and, even if in their static and hierarchical nature, they may seem cold or impersonal at first glance, they emanate the subtle charm of a "timeless" art. Documented for the first time in Rome in 1562, Pulzone soon came into contact with the most important aristocratic families of the second half of the sixteenth century, becoming the official portrait painter of the nobility and the ecclesiastical leadership of the Urbe. The first to appreciate his skills as a portrait painter was Marcantonio II Colonna, winner of the battle of Lepanto against the Turks (1571). He was the one who opened the doors for him to the great Roman families, followed by assignments with the Medici in Florence. The first in chronological order are distinguished by an optical and lenticular investigation, by a lucid focus on the details, applied both to the faces and to the clothes through a vitreous pictorial material. It is undeniable that the technical skill of Gaetano, which in some cases reaches mimetic excellence, has contributed to his notoriety. The closer we get to the final years, the more this characteristic loses consistency and not only in the portraits does he move towards a realism of more immediate human contact, to which our portrait seems to adhere. In exceptionally good condition, the present painting is complete with a beautiful 'wave' ebonized frame in Flemish taste. Follow us also on: https://www.instagram.com/galleriacastelbarco/?hl=it https://www.facebook.com/galleriacastelbarco/