Christine Of Lorraine – Workshop Of Santi Di Tito (1536 – 1603)

Oil on canvas. Florence, workshop of Santi di Tito, c. 1600.
The particular features of the person represented in this powerful portrait leave no doubt that this is the Duchess of Tuscany Christine de Lorraine (1565 - 1637) whose rich toilet demonstrates the desire of the Medici to 'to be the equals of kings. Here, opulence is a true political manifesto which is embodied in the numerous pearls which make her braided hair and the black velvet of her dress shine. Her necklace set with precious stones is reminiscent of the belt worn by Marie de Medici in her wedding portrait taken in 1600 by Santi di Tito (Palatine Gallery, Florence). If the central medallion decorated with two intersecting Cs topped with a crown could be the monogram of Christine de Lorraine's parents (Charles III of Lorraine and Claude de France), it also corresponds to that of Catherine de Medici who was for our model a real adoptive mother. Thus, as a sign of her affection, the Queen of France bequeathed to “Madame Chrestienne Princess of Lorraine her granddaughter for having fed her like her daughter […] half of her furniture, cabinets, rings and jewels”. We assume that this jewel was part of this legacy. Beyond maintaining the dynastic memory of the Medici, Christine de Lorraine here becomes the ambassador of the good financial health of the duchy while her husband, Grand Duke Ferdinand I de Medici (1549 – 1609), took over hand over Tuscany after the very unpopular reign of his brother, Francis I de' Medici. Indeed, his rehabilitation of the port of Livorno and his ordinances favorable to international trade considerably enriched the duchy. For her part, Christine de Lorraine worked in favor of the arts and sciences, pensioning the famous engraver Jacques Callot and offering her support to Galileo when he was in conflict with the Holy See. Having survived her husband by twenty-eight years, Christina of Lorraine left a lasting mark on Florence by remaining close to power during the reigns of her son, Cosimo II de' Medici, and her grandson, Ferdinand II de' Medici. The apparent austerity of our portrait must be put into perspective with the codification of aristocratic behavior and manners of the time according to the canons disseminated by the prestigious French, Austrian and Spanish monarchies. The spirit of the times is then the principle of convenience and the demand for dignity as evidenced by the corpus of Santi di Tito to whose workshop we link our painting. During the last third of the 16th century, this master of the Florentine school took over from Bronzino as the first painter of the Medicean aristocracy. Behind the apparent ornamental simplicity of his works, he manages to transcribe all the aspiration of his models to achieve an iconic fixity, the only one capable of elevating them above ephemeral contingencies and ordinary destinies, as shown in his Portrait of Christine of Lorraine (Palazzo Publico, Siena) with which our composition can be related.

This majestic portrait is presented in an antique Italian frame in carved and gilded wood.
Dimensions: 60 x 48 cm – 81 x 70 cm with frame
Sold with invoice and certificate of expertise.

Biography: Little is known about the youth of Santi di Tito (Sansepolcro, 1536 – Florence, 1603) before his arrival in Florence around 1550 where he trained in painting with Bronzino and Baccio Bandinelli. From 1555, he became a painter at the Medici court under the direction of Vasari before leaving for Rome from 1558 to 1564. Returning to Florence, he tempered his mannerism by focusing more on the effects of light and the color according to a style that art historians describe as a transition to baroque, in accordance with the new prescriptions of the Council of Trent in matters of sacred art. His talent was recognized by his peers as evidenced by a regulation of the Drawing Academy of Florence from 1602 which mentions him as a first-rate artist whose opinion must be required for the export of works of art. Many artists trained in his workshop, first and foremost Antonio Tempesta and his own son, Tiberio Titi, who may have participated in the execution of our painting.

Bibliography:
- CAFFIER, Michel, Au Panthéon des Dames de Lorraine: Seven destinies of women of character, Éditions La Nuée Bleue, 2008.
- DEKONINCK, Ralph, The incarnate vision and the embodied image: Santi di Tito and Caravaggio, Paris, Éditions 1 :1, 2016.
- Florence, Portraits at the Medici court, (exp. cat., Paris, Musée Jacquemart-André, September 11, 2015-January 25, 2016), Paris, Culturespaces, 2015.
- SPALDING, Jack, Santi Di Tito, New York, Garland Pub., 1982.