Cosimo I as Patron of Pisa

This large, exquisitely carved, low-relief marble panel demonstrates the influence of both ancient reliefs and the style of Michelangelo. Perino was deeply influenced by Michelangelo, whom he had met in Rome. The relief shows the duke elevating a figure representing Pisa. With a general’s baton, Cosimo drives away Pisa’s enemies, who are laden with plunder. Behind him reclines the bearded River Arno, doubtless derived from one of Michelangelo’s river gods planned for the Medici Chapel.

This is Pierino’s most famous and compositionally complex relief, called Pisa Restored. Two preparatory drawings for it are preserved in the Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence and the Devonshire Collection, Chatsworth.