Michele Tosini, also called ''Michele di Ridolfo'', (1503–1577) was an Italian painter of the
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
and
Mannerist
Mannerism, which may also be known as Late Renaissance, is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Italy, ...
period, who worked in
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
.
Biography
He apprenticed initially with
Lorenzo di Credi
Lorenzo di Credi (1456/59 – January 12, 1537) was an Italian Renaissance painter and sculptor best known for his paintings of religious subjects. He is most famous for having worked in the studio of Andrea del Verrocchio at the same time a ...
and
Antonio del Ceraiolo
Antonio del Ceraiolo, also known as Antonio di Arcangelo (the nickname "Ceraiolo" derives from the profession of his father, a ''ceraiolo'', or candle maker), was an Italian Renaissance painter active in his native Florence between 1518 and 1538. ...
, but then moved into the studio of
Ridolfo Ghirlandaio
Ridolfo di Domenico Bigordi, better known as Ridolfo Ghirlandaio (14 February 1483 – 6 June 1561) was an Italian Renaissance painter active mainly in Florence. He was the son of Domenico Ghirlandaio.
Biography
He was born in Florence. Since ...
, from whom he acquired the name ''Michele di Ridolfo'' or ''Michele (di Ridolfo) del Ghirlandaio''. Some sources claim Tosini was the son of Ridolfo,
[ Freedberg, Sydney J. ''Painting in Italy, 1500–1600'', 3rd edn., page 620, 1993, Yale, ] but he was just a student of him.
Tosini began painting in the early 16th-century Florentine style of
Fra Bartolommeo
Fra Bartolomeo or Bartolommeo (, , ; 28 March 1472 – 31 October 1517), also known as Bartolommeo di Pagholo, Bartolommeo di S. Marco, and his original nickname Baccio della Porta, was an Italian Renaissance painter of religious subjects. ...
and
Andrea del Sarto
Andrea del Sarto (, , ; 16 July 1486 – 29 September 1530) was an Italian painter from Florence, whose career flourished during the High Renaissance and early Mannerism. He was known as an outstanding fresco decorator, painter of altar-pieces, ...
(e.g. the ''Virgin of the Sacred Girdle'', c. 1525; Florence, San Marco). His acceptance of
Mannerism
Mannerism, which may also be known as Late Renaissance, is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Italy, ...
was slow, but by the 1540s the influence of
Salviati and
Bronzino
Agnolo di Cosimo (; 17 November 150323 November 1572), usually known as Bronzino ( it, Il Bronzino ) or Agnolo Bronzino, was an Italian Mannerist painter from Florence. His sobriquet, ''Bronzino'', may refer to his relatively dark skin or reddis ...
was visible in his work. After 1556, Tosini served as an assistant to
Giorgio Vasari
Giorgio Vasari (, also , ; 30 July 1511 – 27 June 1574) was an Italian Renaissance Master, who worked as a painter, architect, engineer, writer, and historian, who is best known for his work ''The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculpt ...
in the decoration of the ''Salone dei Cinquecento'' in the
Palazzo Vecchio
The Palazzo Vecchio ( "Old Palace") is the City hall, town hall of Florence, Italy. It overlooks the Piazza della Signoria, which holds a copy of Michelangelo's ''David (Michelangelo), David'' statue, and the gallery of statues in the adjacent ...
in
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
. Through Vasari's example, Tosini adopted a vocabulary derived from the work of
Michelangelo
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was insp ...
and painted some of his best-known works in this manner (e.g. ''Night'', c. 1560; Rome, Galleria Colonna, and ''Leda'', c. 1560; Rome, Galleria Borghese). He executed several important commissions late in his career: the fresco decoration of three city gates of Florence (1560s), the altar in the chapel at the Villa Caserotta (1561), near San Casciano Val di Pesa, and the paintings on the sides and back of the tabernacle of the high altar of
Santa Maria della Quercia (1570),
Viterbo
Viterbo (; Viterbese: ; lat-med, Viterbium) is a city and ''comune'' in the Lazio region of central Italy, the capital of the province of Viterbo.
It conquered and absorbed the neighboring town of Ferento (see Ferentium) in its early history. ...
. According to Vasari, Tosini headed a large workshop that executed numerous altarpieces and paintings. He was also a notable portraitist.
Tosini was a mentor to
Bernardino Poccetti
Bernardino Poccetti (26 August 1548 – 10 October 1612), also known as Barbatelli, was an Italian Mannerist painter and printmaker of etchings.
Biography
Born in Florence, he was initially trained as a decorator of facades and ceilings, enrol ...
and
Francesco Brina
Francesco Brina or Del Brina or Brini (1540 – 1586) was an Italian painter of the Mannerist period, active mainly in Florence.
S. J. Freedberg ascribes his training to either Ridolfo Ghirlandaio or more likely his son, Michele di Ridolfo. H ...
.
Collections
Michele Tosini is represented in the following collections amongst others: National Gallery, London;
Czartoryski Museum
The Princes Czartoryski Museum ( pl, Muzeum Książąt Czartoryskich ) – often abbreviated to Czartoryski Museum – is a historic museum in Kraków, Poland, and one of the country's oldest museums. The initial collection was formed in 1796 in P ...
;
Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery
The Hunterian is a complex of museums located in and operated by the University of Glasgow in Glasgow, Scotland. It is the oldest museum in Scotland. It covers the Hunterian Museum, the Hunterian Art Gallery, the Mackintosh House, the Zoology M ...
, University of Glasgow; McMullen Museum of Art at Boston College;
Palmer Museum of Art
The Palmer Museum of Art is the art museum of Pennsylvania State University, located on the University Park campus in State College, Pennsylvania.
Collections
The museum has an increasing permanent collection of more than 7,000 works. The colle ...
at Pennsylvania State University; State Museums of Florence Digital Archive, Italy; Galleria Borghese.
References
*Franklin, David (1998) "Towards a New Chronology for Ridolfo Ghirlandaio and Michele Tosini", ''Burlington Magazine'' 140, pp. 445–56.
*Bolton, Roy (2009
"Michele Tosini: ''Allegory of Fortitude''", in ''Old Master Paintings and Drawings'', London, Sphinx Books, p. 58. .
*
Grove encyclopedia entry in Artnet
External links
1503 births
1577 deaths
16th-century Italian painters
Italian male painters
Painters from Florence
Italian Mannerist painters
Italian portrait painters
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