Alessandro Allori

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Alessandro Allori
Self-portrait by Alessandro Allori, ca. 1555
Born31 May 1535
Florence, Italy
Died22 September 1607(1607-09-22) (aged 72)
Florence, Italy
Known forPainting
MovementMannerism

Alessandro di Cristofano di Lorenzo del Bronzino Allori (Florence, 31 May 1535 – 22 September 1607) was an Italian painter of the late Mannerist Florentine school.

Portrait of Grand Duchess Bianca Capello de Medici, by Allori, Dallas Museum of Art

Biography

In 1540, after the death of his father, Allori was brought up and trained in art by a close friend, often referred to as his 'uncle', the mannerist painter

Agnolo Bronzino, whose name he sometimes assumed in his pictures.[1] Allori supplemented this training with a study trip to Rome, between 1554 and 1560, and with anatomical research which included the dissection of human corpses, provided by the Hospital of Santa Maria Nuova.[2]

In the prime of his career, Allori headed one of the "two most important workshops in Florence in the second half of the 16th century" (the other being headed by

Cleopatra and a landscape with figures diving for pearls.[2]

S. J. Freedberg derides Allori as derivative, claiming he illustrates "the ideal of Maniera by which art (and style) are generated out of pre-existing art." The cold and polished appearance of his painted figures makes them resemble statues as much as living beings. The art historian Simona Lecchini Giovannoni is more positive, remarking that Allori lends life and immediacy to his paintings through his minute and realistic depictions of vegetal motifs (especially flowers), household articles, and textiles of all kinds; the "grandiose, introverted figures" are thus enabled to "approach the spectator, not with dialogue and sentiment, but through the tangible evidence of objects and details".[3]

Among his collaborators was Giovanni Maria Butteri and his main pupil was Giovanni Bizzelli. Cristofano dell'Altissimo, Cesare Dandini, Aurelio Lomi, John Mosnier, Alessandro Pieroni, Giovanni Battista Vanni, and Monanni also were his pupils.[4] He was the father of the painter Cristofano Allori (1577–1621).

In some ways, Allori is the last of the line of prominent Florentine painters, of generally undiluted Tuscan artistic heritage: Andrea del Sarto worked with Fra Bartolomeo (as well as Leonardo da Vinci), Pontormo briefly worked under Andrea, and trained Bronzino, who trained Allori. Subsequent generations in the city would be strongly influenced by the tide of Baroque styles pre-eminent in other parts of Italy.

Main works

Christ with Mary and Martha, oil on wood, 125 x 118 cm
Kunsthistorisches Museum

In 2006 the BBC foreign correspondent

Eleonora di Toledo, and measures 12 cm x 16 cm.[6]

Gallery

  • Maria de Medici (probably), c. 1555
    Maria de Medici (probably), c. 1555
  • Holy Family with Cardinal Fernando de Médicis, 1584
    Holy Family with Cardinal Fernando de Médicis, 1584
  • The Body of Christ Anointed by Two Angels, c. 1593
    The Body of Christ Anointed by Two Angels, c. 1593
  • Portrait of a Lady in Black and White, 1590s
    Portrait of a Lady in Black and White, 1590s
  • Study of Two Seated Girls
    Study of Two Seated Girls
  • Adoration of the Magi, detail from a 1583 tapestry designed by Allori
    Adoration of the Magi, detail from a 1583 tapestry designed by Allori

References

  1. ^ "Allori, Alessandro" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 1 (11th ed.). 1911. p. 699.
  2. ^ .
  3. ^ .
  4. ^ Hobbes J.R. page 5
  5. ^ a b c d Web Gallery of Art, image collection, virtual museum, searchable database of European fine arts (1100-1850)
  6. ^ "Reporter returns looted portrait". BBC. 1 June 2006.

External links

Media related to Alessandro Allori at Wikimedia Commons