Cosimo I de' Medici (1519–1574), Duke of Florence

Baccio Bandinelli Italian

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 503


The duke wears ancient-style armor—an anatomical cuirass (lorica) equipped with shoulder straps and buckles. His head is turned, alert gaze directed to an unseen figure or event. This portrait by Cosimo’s preferred sculptor exemplifies the ongoing experimentation that was encouraged by the duke and his court. On the one hand, its style aligns with a classicizing trend. On the other, it signals an effort to break open the rigid scheme of the portrait bust with dynamic solutions—consistent with what Benvenuto Cellini would try to realize not many years later, as seen in the bronze bust of Cosimo in the entrance gallery.

Cosimo I de' Medici (1519–1574), Duke of Florence, Baccio Bandinelli (Italian, Gaiole in Chianti 1493–1560 Florence), Marble, Italian, Florence

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Cosimo I de' Medici (1519–1574), Duke of Florence, Baccio Bandinelli (Italian, Gaiole in Chianti 1493–1560 Florence), Marble, Italian, Florence
Cosimo I de' Medici (1519–1574), Duke of Florence, Baccio Bandinelli (Italian, Gaiole in Chianti 1493–1560 Florence), Marble, Italian, Florence
Cosimo I de' Medici (1519–1574), Duke of Florence, Baccio Bandinelli (Italian, Gaiole in Chianti 1493–1560 Florence), Marble, Italian, Florence
Cosimo I de' Medici (1519–1574), Duke of Florence, Baccio Bandinelli (Italian, Gaiole in Chianti 1493–1560 Florence), Marble, Italian, Florence
Cosimo I de' Medici (1519–1574), Duke of Florence, Baccio Bandinelli (Italian, Gaiole in Chianti 1493–1560 Florence), Marble, Italian, Florence

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