(Florence 1573–1627)
A Portrait of Grand Duke Cosimo II of Tuscany, wearing the Robes of the Order of Saint Stephen
oil on canvas, 58.4 x 45.7 cm, framed

We are grateful to Francesca Baldassari for confirming the attribution (written communication).

Baldassari dates the present painting to circa 1620. Employing the unusual format of a painted stone cartouche that surrounds the Grand Duke, Tito creates an almost intimate communication between sitter and viewer despite the fact that Cosimo is depicted in the sartorial splendor expected of his rank and position, wearing the Cross of Grand Master of the Order of Saint Stephen. Here the artist succeeds in avoiding the pomp of an official state portrait and he offers a carefully observed, almost psychological characterization of the young ruler at the age of thirty.

Baldassari observes: ‘La qualità della luce e l’attenzione alla resa dei particolari, fisionomici e di costume, accomunano l’opera alle poche opere sicure del pittore e soprattutto al Ritratto di Caterina de’ Medici Gonzaga (Firenze, Gallerie, inv. 1890, n. 2427) riconoscibile nella tela menzionata in una lettera di Tiberio Titi del 1618. I dati stilistici e l’età apparente dell’effigiato concorrono nell’avallare una datazione della tela intorno al 1620’. [The quality of the light and the attention to detail, both of physiognomy and of costume, creates a link between the composition and the few works that can definitely be attributed to the painter, and links it particularly to the Portrait of Caterina de’ Medici Gonzaga (Florence, Gallerie, inv. 1890, n. 2427), recognizable in the canvas mentioned in a letter by Tiberio Titi from 1618. The stylistic data and the apparent age of the subject strongly support a dating of the canvas to circa 1620.]

Tiberio di Tito was the son and pupil of the late-Mannerist painter Santi di Tito. He specialized in portraiture and emulated his father’s range of tonality. He was extensively patronized by the ruling house of Medici. Along with Cristofano Allori, he seems to have been the favorite portraitist at court prior to the arrival of Justus Sustermans. His career as a Medici portraitist lasted until at least 1621, when Sustermans was appointed court painter.

Cosimo II was a fascinating personality, and only his unexpected death at young age from tuberculosis prevented the promising young duke from having further influence over Tuscan politics and protecting his teacher Gallileo Gallilei from papal prosecution. He was Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1609 until 1621. As the eldest son of the then incumbent Grand Duke Ferdinando I de’ Medici and Christina of Lorraine, his father organised a modern education for him and Galileo Galilei was Cosimo’s tutor between 1605 and 1608. Ferdinando arranged for Cosimo to marry Archduchess Maria Maddalena of Austria, daughter of Archduke Charles II, in 1608. Together they had eight children. Ferdinando I died in 1609. Just over a year after Cosimo’s accession, Galileo dedicated his Sidereus Nuncius, an account of his telescopic discoveries, to the Grand Duke. Additionally, Galileo christened the moons of Jupiter the ‘Medicean stars’. Galileo’s advocacy of Copernicanism later led to his trial by the Roman Inquisition, and he was held under house arrest in Tuscany from 1633 until his death in 1642. He died on 28 February 1621 and was succeeded by his eldest son, Ferdinando (see Lot 241).