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FRANCESCO SALVIATI RITRATTISTA: EXPERIMENTS IN CINQUECENTO PORTRAITURE by Xiaoyin Huang A thesis submitted to the Graduate Program in Art History In conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Queen’s University Kingston, Ontario, Canada (April, 2013) Copyright ©XiaoyinHuang, 2013 Abstract This dissertation aims to provide a comprehensive study of Francesco Salviati’s portraits, analyzed within a chronological framework. Traditional attributions are re-examined and recent discoveries included to establish a reliable core group of the artist’s portraits, one exhibiting a stylistic coherence. Salviati’s activities as a portraitist are placed in the historical, political, cultural and artistic context of his time, with particular emphasis on patronage. Versatile and well-connected, Francesco served a number of top-ranking patrons of his time, including Cardinal Giovanni Salviati, Pier Luigi and Alessandro Farnese (in Rome), Duke Cosimo I de’ Medici (in Florence), the Grimani family (in Venice), King Henri II, and the Cardinal of Lorraine in France. This study intends to navigate portraiture’s role in the relationships between the courtier-artist and his princely patrons. Characterized by innovation and experimentation, Salviati’s portraits vary in composition, media and supports. As one of the earliest artists to produce portrait miniatures in Italy, Francesco evidently introduced the genre to Cosimo I de’ Medici’s court to create an aura of a royal court equal to that in France and England. His experiments with the use of various stone supports for portraits are discussed in relation to his status as the leading painter in Rome after the death of Sebastiano del Piombo in 1547. Lastly, the artist’s career as a book illustrator is explored to shed light on his interactions with well-known literati of his time, such as Pietro Aretino, Anton Francesco Doni and Giambattista Gelli. The designs Salviati provided for their author portraits are not only testimony to their acquaintance, but also evidence of the artist’s participation in their intellectual communities. ii Acknowledgements I am indebted to many friends and colleagues who have contributed to the completion of this dissertation. Foremost, I would like to thank my supervisor, David McTavish, who has patiently guided me through the various stages of the project. Immensely knowledgeable in the topic himself, David provided invaluable insights through his feedbacks and shared useful bibliographic and photographic materials. His careful proofreading and editing in the late stages helped to shape this study into its present form. I would also like to thank my professors at Queen’s University, especially Una d’Elia, Pierre de Prey and Sebastian Schütze (now at Universität Wien), for their inspiration, encouragement and support during my graduate years. Special thanks also goes to the head of the department, Janice Helland and the administrative staff, Darlene Daniels, Lovorka Fabek-Fischer, Dawn Lloyd, and Diane Platt. Their help in getting the funding and the tuition waivers has been a blessing to me during my long years of international studenthood at Queen’s. This dissertation has been made possible in part by the Alfred and Isabelle Bader European Research Fellowship, which enabled me to conduct field research in Europe between September 2009 and August 2010. A Graduate Dean’s Travel Grant during 2010-2011 allowed me to visit museums in the United States, examining several important portraits in person. I would also like to thank the I Tatti fellows of 2009-2010, especially Anne Dunlop, Robert G. La France and Joanna Woods-Marsden, as well as Bruce Edelstein (New York University in Florence), who welcomed me to their scholarly communities during my stay in Tuscany. To Catherine Goguel I am grateful for an inspiring conversation on Salviati’s portraits and a letter of introduction to the Département des Arts Graphiques at the Louvre. iii The following libraries and photographic archives have generously given me access to their holdings: in London, the Witt Library at the Courtauld Institute and the photographic collection at the Warburg Institute; in Florence, the Biblioteca Centrale, the Kunsthistorisches Insititut, the Fototeca Berenson at the Villa I Tatti, and the Biblioteca della Galleria degli Uffizi; the Frick Art Reference Library in New York. This dissertation would not have been possible without the kind assistance of the curatorial staff of the museums that I visited for research purposes. I am especially thankful to Andrea Bayer (Metropolitan Museum of Fine Arts, New York), Linda McKee (John and Mable Ringling Museum, Sarasota), Joaneath Spicer and Russ Sale (Walters Art Museum, Baltimore) and Joyce Weaver (Mint Museum Randolph, Charlotte, N.C.). I am also grateful for the kind assistance offered by the staff at the Département des Arts Graphiques (Musée du Louvre), the Gabinetto dei disegni e stampe (Galleria degli Uffizi), the Department of Prints and Drawings (British Museum) and the Prints and Drawings Study Room (Victoria and Albert Museum). This study is dedicated to my parents, whose unfailing love for and confidences in me have sustained me. To their encouragement and financial supports, I will always be grateful. iv To my parents v Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................................ ii Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................................... iii List of Figures…………………………………………………………………………………….vii Chapter 1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 2 Central Italian Portraiture in the Formative Years of Francesco Salviati...................... 12 2.1 Florentine Portraits between 1470 and 1530 ........................................................................ 12 2.2 Salviati’s Formative Years and Early Works ....................................................................... 29 2.3 Roman Portraiture in the First Three Decades of the Sixteenth Century ............................. 43 Chapter 3 Francesco Salviati in and out of Rome (1531-1543) ..................................................... 57 3.1 Salviati in Post-Sack Rome .................................................................................................. 57 3.2 Early Portrait Drawings ....................................................................................................... 67 3.3 Early Portrait Paintings ........................................................................................................ 73 3.4 The North Italian Journey (1539-1541) ............................................................................... 80 3.5 Brief Sojourn in Rome before Returning to Florence (1541-1543) ..................................... 98 Chapter 4 Francesco Salviati at the Medicean Court (1543-1548) .............................................. 112 4.1 Salviati and Bronzino: Portraiture under the Medici Patronage ........................................ 124 4.2 Francesco Salviati and the Accademia Fiorentina ............................................................. 137 4.3 Portrait Prints ..................................................................................................................... 142 4.4 The Altarpieces .................................................................................................................. 147 Chapter 5 Salviati’s Last years in Rome and His Trip to France (1548-1563) ............................ 152 5.1 Large-Scale Fresco Projects (1548-1556) .......................................................................... 152 5.2 Independent Portraits (1548-1556) .................................................................................... 168 5.3 The French Journey c. 1556-1557/8 .................................................................................. 176 5.4 Post-French Period 1557/8-1563 ....................................................................................... 186 Chapter 6 Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 190 II Doubtfully and Erroneously Attributed Portraits ................................................................. 240 III Portrait Drawings and Prints ............................................................................................... 276 Bibliography ................................................................................................................................ 296 vi List of Figures Chapter II - Central Italian Portraiture in the Formative Years of Francesco Salviati Figure 2.1, Leonardo da Vinci, Ginevra de’ Benci. National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. c. 1474…………………………………………………………………………………………p. 15 Figure 2.2, Raphael, Lady with a Unicorn. Galleria Borghese, Rome. c. 1506……………..p. 19 Figure 2.3, Ridolfo Ghirlandaio, Portrait of a Man. Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago. c. 1503- 1510……………………………………………………………………………………………p. 19 Figure 2.4, Ridolfo Ghirlandaio, Portrait of a Goldsmith. Palazzo Pitti, Florence. c. 1515……… …………………………………………………………………………………………………p. 20 Figure 2.5, Franciabigio, Portrait of a Jeweller. Princeton University Art Museum, Princeton. c. 1516………………………………………………………………………………………….p. 21 Figure 2.6, Domenico Puligo,