Cardinal Leopoldo as a Collector
Of Cosimo II’s four sons Leopoldo, who was made a cardinal in 1666, was the most enlightened and cultivated, with universal interests that ranged from physics to music and even painting; in the Pitti Palace he built up, as we shall see, a collection that was to make him famous. Leopoldo appears to have inherited from his father a passion for art as well as a lively interest in the sciences; he was the founder and one-time director of the Accademia del Cimento. The collection he accumulated in the apartments on the second floor of the Pitti Palace, comprising paintings, drawings, prints, and books, today forms the nucleus of the Florentine galleries’ holdings.
Leopoldo’s most important cultural achievement came about as a result of his passion for Venetian painting of the sixteenth century, which brought to the Pitti paintings by Giorgione, Titian, Paolo Veronese, Tintoretto, Palma Vecchio, Paris Bordone, Jacopo Bassano, Schiavone, and Moroni – today part of the most important works of this school in the Florentine galleries – along with works by Bolognese artists of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, including Dosso Dossi, Francesco Albani, Annibale Carracci, and Guido Reni, whose Christian Charity and Cleopatra are both part of the Pitti collection.
Leopoldo’s most important cultural achievement came about as a result of his passion for Venetian painting of the sixteenth century, which brought to the Pitti paintings by Giorgione, Titian, Paolo Veronese, Tintoretto, Palma Vecchio, Paris Bordone, Jacopo Bassano, Schiavone, and Moroni – today part of the most important works of this school in the Florentine galleries – along with works by Bolognese artists of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, including Dosso Dossi, Francesco Albani, Annibale Carracci, and Guido Reni, whose Christian Charity and Cleopatra are both part of the Pitti collection.
With his brothers Ferdinando and Giovan Carlo, Leopoldo also developed an interest in the petits-maitres of the Dutch school, including the above-mentioned Aelst and Marseus (Leopoldo probably collected the latter’s works, of which he owned the greatest number, for their scientific content). His interests also extended to Dutch painters of nature such as Cornelis van Poelenburgh (already collected extensively by his parents). Above all, Leopoldo bought works by the so-called bamboccianti, a group of artists dedicated to the representation of the everyday life of Romans, led by the painter Pieter van Laer, nicknamed “Bamboccio”. It is thanks to their patron that Florence possesses the best examples of the painter’s work. Because of Leopoldo’s interest in the realistic style of Roman artists, he was presented with the Sleeping Cupid, one of Caravaggio’s last works (now in the Pitti).
In the Medici apartments on the third floor of the Pitti Palace, a roomful of artists’ self-portraits formed the basis of an extremely important collection that today contains more than a thousand examples, including works by Rembrandt and Rubens acquired by Leopoldo himself. Leopoldo also began, quite ahead of his time, to collect bozzetti, or preparatory works and sketches, annexing them to his collections of drawings and prints, curated by the art historian Filippo Baldinucci. Leopoldo’s bozzetti served as both example and stimulus for similar collections put together by his nephew Cosimo and his great-nephew Ferdinando.
In the Medici apartments on the third floor of the Pitti Palace, a roomful of artists’ self-portraits formed the basis of an extremely important collection that today contains more than a thousand examples, including works by Rembrandt and Rubens acquired by Leopoldo himself. Leopoldo also began, quite ahead of his time, to collect bozzetti, or preparatory works and sketches, annexing them to his collections of drawings and prints, curated by the art historian Filippo Baldinucci. Leopoldo’s bozzetti served as both example and stimulus for similar collections put together by his nephew Cosimo and his great-nephew Ferdinando.
Some Works Acquired by Cardinal Leopoldo
Guido Reni, Christian Charity, Pitti
This painting can be dated to around 1620, and its presence in the Pitti is documented from 1675. (Gregori, op. cit., p. 348.)
Guido Reni, Cleopatra, Pitti
This masterpiece from the artist's old age was painted around the end of the 1630s. It is mentioned in the 1675 inventory of Leopoldo de'Medici's collection. (Gregori, op. cit., p. 350.)
Raphael, Portrait of Tommasso Inghirami ("Fedra Inghirami"), Pitti
Tommasso Inghirami was made Prefect of the Vatican Library in 1510, and it was perhaps on this occasion that he commissioned this portrait. It was cited among the property of Cardinal Leopoldo, with the artist and the subject explicitly identified, in 1663. (Gregori, op. cit, p. 170.)
Caravaggio, The Sleeping Cupid, Pitti
The artist painted this work during his stay in Malta in 1608. In July 1609 it was already installed in the Antella family palace in Florence. It was acquired for the Medici Collection in 1667 by Cardinal Leopoldo. (Gregori, op. cit., p. 331.)
Veronese, Portrait of a Gentleman in a Fur, Pitti
Part of Cardinal Leopoldo's legacy (1675), this painting was traditionally thought to portray Daniele Barbaro; however, that identification now seems incorrect, as Barbaro looks very different in the portrait of him in the Riksmuseum in Amsterdam. This painting dates from 1565. (Gregori, op. cit., p. 281.)
Paris Bordone, Female Portrait, Pitti
Part of Cardinal Leopoldo's inheritance, this portrait is considered to be typical of the artist's work, with mannerist overtones. It dates from around 1545-1550. (Gregori, op. cit., p. 271.)
Bonifacio Veronese, Holy Family, Pitti
Titian, Concerto, Pitti
Cardinal Leopoldo acquired this picture and others in 1654 from Paolo del Sera, a noble Florentine who was moving to Venice. At the time, it was thought that Giorgione was the author. Recently, twentieth century critics have given it to the young Titian (circa 15150). (Gregori, op. cit., p. 261.)
Titian, Portrait of a Gentleman ("Tommasso Mosti"), Pitti
Catalogued in Cardinal Leopoldo's collection in 1663, this painting came to the gallery as part of his legacy in 1675. It dates from around 1516-1518. (Gregori, op. cit., p. 264.)
Titian, Portrait of a Man ("The Sick Man"), Uffizi
This painting came from Cardinal Leopoldo's collection. Once thought to be by Sebastiano del Piombo, it is now assigned to Titian, though the attribution is still open to question. (Gregori, op. cit. p. 261.)
Pieter Paul Rubens, Three Graces, Pitti
Dating from before 1628-1630, this painting in monochrome is a model for the decoration of an ivory pitcher. In 1671 it was offered as a gift by Monsignor Francesco Airoldi to Cardinal Leopoldo de' Medici, who placed it in the Pitti. (Gregori, op. cit., p. 517.)
Marco Chiarini, "From Palace to Museum: The History of the Florentine Galleries"; Paintings in the Uffizi & Palatine Galleries, Boston, 1994, pp. 12-13.