Author: Giorgio Vasari ( 1511 – 1574 )
Date: 1533-1534
Site: Uffizi Gallery, Florence
Technique: oil on the table
Dimensions: 90x72 cm.

The portrait of Lorenzo the Magnificent, made by Giorgio Vasari, was commissioned by Ottaviano de’ Medici at the request of Duke Alessandro with the intent to commemorate his illustrious ancestor, while legitimizing the return to power of the family after the Republican parenthesis. Lorenzo is depicted in domestic clothes, but the quality of the fabrics indicates the high social status of the character. He leans on a marble pillar adorned with a relief mask. Above the pillar rests an old-fashioned lamp composed of a porphyry base holding a bizarre mask. On the right there is another marble base on which we read "Virtue subdues vices". The vice is symbolized by the monstrous mask resting on the pillar and crushed by a finely chiseled vase. Another mask hangs from the spout of the jar. It is therefore the exercise of virtue that has allowed Lorenzo to be remembered and praised by posterity as an excellent and pure spirit.

Clarice, daughter of Jacopo Orsini, Lord of Monterotondo and Magdalene, daughter of Carlo of Bracciano was portrayed by Domenico Ghirlandaio in the Renaissance style. The face, represented in three quarters, is severe. The elegance of the red velvet clothing with a Renaissance headdress stands out. In the background you can see a noble palace, whose refined style can be noted from the workmanship of the vault that frames the subject. Despite the vermilion brightness of the elegant dress the predominant tones are cold and austere, wanting to emphasize the stern personality of the lady.

Lucrezia Maria Romola de 'Medici, the eldest daughter of Lorenzo the Magnificent and Clarice Orsini, was born in Florence on August 4, 1470. In 1481 Jacopo Salviati married, with whom he had thirteen children. Lucrezia always remained very attached to her family of origin, often residing in the paternal home, in order to help her parents. She was a woman with a strong character, capable of leading the family with safety, prudence and diffidence also towards the people close to her. He died in 1553, at the long-lived age of 83 years. This portrait of Lucrezia Maria Romola de ’Medici was made by the artist Sandro Botticelli. It is represented in profile with the gaze that turns to the left, like the whole body. The face and position are relaxed, they do not convey dynamism. The red dress with black inserts stands out against the monochrome, completely black background. Lucrezia wears a necklace with a small pendant and her long blonde hair is gathered in a hairstyle.

Author: Domenico Ghirlandaio ( 1448 – 1494 )
Date: 1494
Site: National Library, Naples
Technique: tempera on parchment

Piero di Lorenzo de 'Medici, nicknamed the fatuous or the unfortunate, was born in Florence in 1472 to Lorenzo the Magnificent and Clarice Orsini. The nicknames attributed to him indicate his incapacity in the political environment. In 1488 his union with Alfonsina Orsini was celebrated, with whom he had four children, of whom only two, Lorenzo and Clarice reached adulthood. He died drowned in 1503. The portrait of Piero di Lorenzo de 'Medici was made by Domenico Ghirlandaio and is currently kept in the National Library of Naples. In the representation the subject is probably 22 years old. The body was represented slightly directed to the left, but the gaze turns straight and stares at the observer of the work. The subject wears a red dress with a white shirt underneath and a black headdress above his blond hair. The background is completely blue and shows some damages. The technique used is tempera on parchment.

Magdalene de’ Medici was born in Florence on July 25, 1473. She is the daughter of Lorenzo the Magnificent and Clarice Orsini. She had a difficult childhood due to frequent illnesses that influenced her personality. She got married to Francesco Cybo, for political an economic reasons, on January 20, 1488 and they moved to Rome. They had 8 children but just 6 of them survived and especially the death of Lucrezia, their firstborn, was really hard for Maddalena that got depressed. After the death of Innocent VIII they moved to Florence, Pisa and Genova too. On September 23, 1513 her son Innocenzo Cybo was appointed cardinal. Magdalene died in Rome on December 2, 1519, a few months after her husband and she was buried in the basilica of San Pietro.

Author: Parmigianino ( 1503 – 1540 )
Date: 1524
Site: Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen
Technique: oil on the table
Dimensions: 126x104 cm

Lorenzo Cybo is the son of Franceschetto Cybo and Maddalena de 'Medici, his paternal grandfather was Pope Innocent VIII, while his maternal grandfather was Lorenzo the Magnificent.

The figure of Lorenzo is portrayed erect, cut in the legs, near a page that holds the sword on which Lorenzo rests his right hand, while the left hand is on the military flask that he has tied to his belt. She wears an elegant dress decorated with cuts, according to the most exuberant fashion of the time, and a vermilion hat with feather. He has a long beard, short hair and an intense and direct gaze towards the observer.

In front of him, the page holds up his gloves and a tray on which there are two bronze medals and a dice, which is probably an allusion to the "game of fate". Behind him there is a balustrade beyond which there is a thick foliage.

Author: Agnolo Bronzino
Date: 1555– 1565
Site: Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy
Technique: oil on tin
Dimensions: 15x12 cm

Author: Sandro Botticelli ( 1445 - 1510 )
Date: 1482-1483 circa
Site: Uffizi Gallery, Florence
Technique: tempera on canvas
Dimensions: 207x148 cm

Luisa Contessina Romola di Lorenzo de' Medici was born in Firenze on 25 December 1476, she was Lorenzo de' Medici and Clarice Orsini’s fifth daughter. She died the summer of 1488 when she was only eleven. She was destined to marry her distant cousin Giovanni di Pierfrancesco de 'Medici, later called “Il popolano”, but died before getting married. For her wedding, the large painting "Pallas and the centaur" by Sandro Botticelli was perhaps made.

It’s tempera on canvas and it is dated 1482-1483, its dimensions are 207x148 cm. It is located in the “Uffizi Gallery” in Firenze. Two characters are represented in the painting: Pallade and a centaur. It is assumed that Pallade’s face was inspired by the young face of Luisa de ’Medici. Despite being armed, when Pallade touch him, the centaur seems to be docile and harmless. Behind them is represented a natural landscape.

Author: Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564) e Giovanni Angelo Montorsoli (1507-1563)
Date: 1526-1534 circa
Site: New Sacristy, Florence
Technique: Sculpture (marble)
Dimensions: 168x80 cm

Giuliano di Lorenzo de 'Medici was a great patron, his tomb, commissioned to Michelangelo, is located in the New Sacristy of the basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence. The Portrait of Giuliano decorates the New Sacristy, is the central statue of Giuliano's tomb, which does not reproduce the features of the deceased, but is an ideal and heroic elaboration of his figure. The work, inserted in a niche, shows the young seated duke, dressed like an ancient Roman general and in an attitude of pride. The armor adheres to the body and reveals the muscular torso and the high boots show bare feet. The duke holds the baton, the emblem of power, and two coins, to remind “Liberalitas” or “obolo” that the deceased had to pay in the realm of the Underworld according to ancient mythology.

Author: Tiziano Vecellio (1488-1576)
Date: 1532-1534 circa
Site: Palatine Gallery, Palazzo Pitti, Florence
Technique: oil on the table
Dimensions: 139x107 cm

Illegitimate son of Giuliano di Lorenzo de 'Medici, Duke of Nemours, who was the son of Lorenzo the Magnificent. The portrait of Ippolito Medici was painted by Tiziano Vecellio in Bologna in 1533. Ippolito is portrayed in the Hungarian warrior style, in memory of his deeds in Vienna, during the Ottoman siege and during the liberation of Hungary, in command of four thousand musketeers. Ippolito is located on a dark background, dark reds, purples and amaranth are connected to each other and highlight the perfectly illuminated face, with a confident and cruel expression. With his right hand he holds the baton, while with his left he rests on the hilt of the sword. After the death of Ippolito in 1535 at the age of 24, his portrait was transferred to the Florentine collections of the Medici at Palazzo Pitti.