SUSTERMANS, Justus

Shown here in his early twenties, the future Cosimo III de’ Medici (1642-1723) exhibits the taste for command he would indulge harshly and disastrously when he assumed the family title.

This family portrait brings together Cosimo II, grand duke of Florence from 1609 to 1621, his wife Maria Maddalena of Austria, and their son Ferdinando II, ruler from 1628 to 1670. The loose composition of three figures, each of whom appears independent and without a real spatial and psychological relationship with the others, is due to the fact that the painting dates back to many years later, based on models already prepared by Suttermans and his workshop

The canvas seems to be a dynastic commemoration in honour of Cosimo II, a cultured, balanced ruler, with the allegory for Justice on his armour - perhaps in reference to the symbolic role of exemplum virtutis, which inspired both Maria Maddalena in her capacity as regent and Ferdinando, his legitimate successor.

The portrait also stands out for its extraordinary display of clothing and jewels, which are also extremely interesting in terms of costume history.

Together with another painting, this is a rare and unusual scientific record of the illness that afflicted the young Ferdinando II in 1626 at the age of 16, when he was not yet Grand Duke. The paintings represent two successive phases of smallpox, on the seventh and ninth day. The picture shown here represents the ninth day when the rash erupted fully. At the time smallpox was a serious and often mortal illness. However, Ferdinando managed to survive.

Ferdinando II is shown here as an armoured youth of seventeen designing military fortifications. His great achievement, however, was administrative, easing a time of plague and famine.

Called “the wisest of princes and the prince of wise men” - perhaps for his protection of Galilei and other scientists - Ferdinando II also enjoyed life. However, the sumptuous entertainments held in the Palazzo Pitti and the galleries and theatre of the Uffizi were underwritten by extraordinarily heavy taxation. Now too grand for trade, the Medici were sliding into chronic financial crisis.

The portrait of Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) is one of Sustermans’ most famous works. It was commissioned by Elia Diodati (1576-1661), a jurist originally from Lucca, who lived between Paris and Geneva, as well as being a great friend of Galileo’s, committed to circulating his writings throughout Europe, and also planning to publish Galileo’s complete works after his death.

The half bust of the figure attracts the viewer’s gaze to the pale face of the subject and to his gaze outside the frame, which was both inspired and visionary at the same time. He is in a traditional listening pose, implying inspiration. But this is also a “speaking likeness’ - the court painter portrayed the questioning, quarrelsome scientist with his mouth open, as if preparing a sarcastic retort.

At the time of the painting, Galileo was around 70 years old and had been forced into exile in the countryside just out of Florence, on the hill of Arcetri.

In a pious masquerade, Margherita, a daughter of Cosimo II de’ Medici and Maria Maddalena of Austria, posed as her name saint, Margaret. Margaret was of noble birth, so Margherita’s rich fabrics and sophisticated colour combinations were perfectly in order.

Shown here in form-fitting parade armour, Mattias, brother of Grand Duke Ferdinando II, distinguished himself as a soldier. He was an intellectual and passionate collector as well.

Prince Waldemar Christian (1603–1647) was a member of the royal family in Denmark.

Vincent II Gonzaga (1594-1627) was Duke of Mantua and Duke of Montferrat from 1626 until his death. He ascended to the throne at Ferdinando Gonzaga’s death in 1626. He died a few months later without having succeeded in stabilizing the duchy’s pressing financial problems or providing the dynasty with an heir who might guarantee a legitimate succession of power.

Vittoria della Rovere (1622-94) was the daughter of Claudia de’ Medici and Federico Ubaldo della Rovere, Duke of Urbino. She married her cousin, Grand Duke Ferdinando II in 1637. Vittoria inherited the artistic treasures of the della Rovere family, consisting of an immense number of masterpieces that were brought to Florence in 1631.

Later, between 1639 and 1642, this portrait was transformed into an image of St Margaret by adding a crown with halo.

Grand Duchess Vittoria della Rovere is portrayed in a an elegant black dress with a wide lace collar, with her first son Cosimo III, future Grand Duke, aged about 3 or 4 years.

This painting is recognized as a preparatory study for the great canvas depicting the same historical and eulogistic subject carried out by Justus Suttermans in 1625 and hung the following year on the first floor of the Pitti Palace; the canvas is currently exhibited in the Uffizi.

The work represents the artist’s most ambitious piece, a unicum of his career as official portrait artist to the Medici court. The scene captures the moment of the oath of allegiance sworn by the Senators and other important Florentine figures to the young Ferdinando II in the Hall of the Five-hundred in the Palazzo Vecchio on March 11, 1621.

The three figures in this painting are people who really existed, as proved by the records in the Medici archives. In this work, Suttermans, a famed portrait artist, who had successfully immortalised and celebrated the most important figures in the Medici family, documents with great sagacity the small domestic world that surrounded and accompanied court life. In this case, the two old women with wrinkled faces and a lively, wry expressions are Domenica delle Cascine, a duck and chicken seller, and a peasant woman, Francesca, or “Cecca” from Pratolino. Both are frequently mentioned in the Medici’s accounting documents. Domenica, in particular, is recorded as being paid not only for her role as stewardess, but also as entertainer, often engaged to amuse the lord and his family with jokes and pleasantries and to “play the Fool”. Pietro the Moor, on the right was most likely one of the many servants at the house.

The three figures in this painting are people who really existed, as proved by the records in the Medici archives. In this work, Suttermans, a famed portrait artist, who had successfully immortalised and celebrated the most important figures in the Medici family, documents with great sagacity the small domestic world that surrounded and accompanied court life. In this case, the two old women with wrinkled faces and a lively, wry expressions are Domenica delle Cascine, a duck and chicken seller, and a peasant woman, Francesca, or “Cecca” from Pratolino. Both are frequently mentioned in the Medici’s accounting documents. Domenica, in particular, is recorded as being paid not only for her role as stewardess, but also as entertainer, often engaged to amuse the lord and his family with jokes and pleasantries and to “play the Fool”. Pietro the Moor, on the right was most likely one of the many servants at the house.