Duke Cosimo I de’ Medici utilized artists to form images of himself under the guise of a Roman Imperial ruler and as a successful Medici heir. A selection of artists were chosen for his portraiture, and depending on their preferred media, each played a different role for the Duke.
Cosimo’s painters, Pontormo, Bronzino, and Vasari, created images of the Duke that affirmed his authority to rule based on his Medici lineage. These portrait painters, selected based on their ability to produce lifelike portraits and facilitate the Medici impresa following the Duke’s political agenda, had many similarities. These similarities include previous employment under the Medici, adaptability to the Duke’s demands, and a strong knowledge of Medici and Florentine art. Duke Cosimo followed a sequence with his painters and generally just employed one at a time for his portraits.
Cosimo’s selected sculptors, Bandinelli, Cellini and Danti, constantly vied for the Duke’s favor. The portraits created by the sculptors emphasized the Duke’s assumed relationship with Emperor Augustus, utilizing more idealized physical features and the warrior persona. Much like the painters, the sculptors were chosen by Cosimo I based on their similarities in their training background and their prior relationship to the Medici family. However, Cosimo did not develop strong loyalty to just one sculptor at a time, and these sculptors worked against one another to gain commissions. Giambologna is a special case in this study since his portraiture of Cosimo I was created under the patronage of Cosimo’s son, Francesco I de’ Medici, yet was completed while Cosimo was still living. Giambologna’s position in the court of the Medici differs widely from the painters and sculptors selected under Duke Cosimo’s patronage.