You know...
I can't be called an expert on art, but this does not look like Eleonora of
Toledo, 2nd Duchess of Florence, to me. It looks like our Eleonora's
niece Eleonora of Toledo,(she was the daughter of her brother Garcia). The
younger Eleonora married Cosimo and Eleonora's youngest son Pietro (their
11th child)and was later murdered by him for supposed infidelity. (Not that
he was any prize, but let's not go there...)
The little dog (which is the same breed as the one shown in the painting
Bronzino did called the Lady with the Dog( she is wearing a brilliant red
dress) which has recently been identified as Maria Salviati, Cosimo's
mother), means fidelity, but also sexual or marital love...
The portrait in the BBC article is similar to at least 2 other paintings of
the younger Eleonora I know of. I think the dress is in this portrait too
late in style for our Eleonora-- the standing collar is a muchlater style.
Our Eleonora had a very distinctive style that she brought with her to
Florence.
Also, if it was by Allori, I think he would have painted a more flattering
portrait , such as the one in Duke Francesco's Studiolo, which made her look
beautiful and healthy, just the was Francesco wanted to remember his mom.
Alorri painting would have been posthumous anyway... Bronzino's portraits of
our Eleonora show her very gaunt toward the end of her life and her style
of clothing is consistant.
Best Regards,
Monica Spence (Catriona MacDuff in the SCA)
-Original Message-
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Behalf Of Linda Walton
Sent: Thursday, June 01, 2006 3:39 PM
To: Historical Costume
Subject: [h-cost] New Portrait of Eleonora of Toledo
I heard about this miniature on the BBC radio news
this evening:-
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/5037002.stm
If you click to enlarge the image, you'll also see
more of the painting.
It's just been donated to the Berlin museum by a
reporter who'd set out discover if -as it was -
art looted during World War II. It goes on
display tomorrow. If you'd like to hear the story
told by the man himself, you should be able to
find it on the BBC website's Listen Again
facility, or maybe as a podcast download. It was
the very last item, just before 6.00pm, on
tonight's PM programme on Radio 4.
Linda Walton,
(High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, U.K.).
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