Francesco I as a Collector
While Francesco's interests did not lie much in works of art, he did manage to acquire some important works. Since he did not make Palazzo Pitti his principal residence, and not much of it was completed during his lifetime, what works he did collect were largely kept elsewhere. The works below were kept at the Tribuna in the Uffizi. Francesco also kept an important part of his collection in his Studiolo at the Palazzo Vecchio.
Some Works Acquired by Francesco I
Raphael, Ezekiel's Vision, Pitti
God the Father, based on an antique representation of Jove, is here depicted as appearing to Ezekiel with the symbols of the Evangelists. The painting was commissioned by a member of the Ercolani family of Bologna, perhaps Vincenzo, and is datable to 1518. It was acquired by Francesco I and already exhibited in the Tribune in 1589. (Gregori, op. cit. p. 174.)
Andrea del Sarto, A Story from the Life of Joseph the Hebrew, Pitti
These two panels, together with thirteen others executed by Granacci, Pontormo, and Bachiacca, made up the cycle Stories from the Life of Jospeh the Hebrew that decorated the bridal chamber of Pierfrancesco Borgherini and Margherita Acciaioli, who were married in 1515. The series was dismantled in 1584 on the order of Francesco I, who acquired the pair of panels from Andrea and two others by Granacci. (Gregori, op. cit., p. 188-189.)
Francesco Granacci, Joseph Presents his Father and Brothers to Pharaoh, Uffizi
Granacci painted this panel, the Trinity now in Berlin, and the Uffizi's Joseph Being Led to Prison for Pierfrancesco Borgherini's bridal chamber on the occasion of his marriage in 1515. In 1584, the Granacci panels were sold by Nicoolò Borgherini to Francesco I, who displayed them in the Tribune at the Uffizi. (Gregori, op. cit., p. 199)