Anonymous sale, Vienna, Dorotheᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚum, 17 April 2013, lot 633, for €201,600.

This captivating painting, which was recently added to Sebastiano Marsili's oeuvre, is one of the few, if not the only known portrait of Alessandra de' Medici, the daughter of Attilio de' Medici. The identities of both the sitter and the artist are indicated by an inscription on the back of this p⛄anel. 

Autograph paintings by Marsili are very rare. Aside from this portrait, Marsili is known to have contributed to the wall decorations of the Studiolo of Francesco I in the Palazzo Vecchio, Florence¹ and to the illustrations of Raffaello Gualterotti's book commemorating the marriage between Francesco I de’ Medici and Bianca Cappello.² His participation in these illustrations is recorded through an inscription that shares a similar Roman-style font to the one used to present Alessandra's name and age in this panel, making it likely that this work was inscribed by Marsili himself.³

During Marsili's time in the Studiolo of Francesco I, he collaborated with Alessandro Allori (1535 - 1607), whose influence on Marsili can be seen here. Stylistic similarities can be drawn between the present work and Allori's portraits depicting Bianca Cappello (both the one in the Dallas Museum of Art and another in the Galleria Palatina ed Appartamenti Reali at the Palazzo Pitti, Florence).⁴ In all three paintings, the sitters are shown wiꩵth the same up-do hairstyle, accessorized by a veil that cascades from behind. Furthermore, Allori's portrait in the Palazzo Pitti and this one both include a dark red carnation tucked into the sitter's elegantly bejeweled bodice.

The carnation in Alessandra's bodice is a symbol of her love and devotion to her husband, Vieri (Veri) di Niccolò di Tanai de’ Medici (1527 - circa 1600), the Provveditore Generale delle Fabbriche for the Medici. She is portrayed here with one of their sons, probably Ottaviano, who was born on 22 March 1577. Since the only recordℱ of a surviving offspring is between Vieri and his second wife, Alessandra probably died shortly after this commemorative portrait was made.

When this painting sold in 2013 (see Provenance), both Professor Elizabeth Pilliod and Professor🐽 Mina Gregori endorsed independently the attr꧅ibution to Sebastiano Marsili. 

1. For the Studiolo of Francesco I in the Museo di Palazzo Vecchio, Florence, Sebastiano Marsili painted Atalanta and Hippomenes. Oil൲ on panel, 117 by 67 cm., inꦆv. no. 6337 - 1890.

2. R. Gualterotti, Feste nelle nozze del serenissimo don Francesco Medici gran dvca di Toscana; et della sereniss. sua consorte la sig. Bianca Cappello, Florence 1579.

3. Ibid., plate at the right of p. 12.

4. Oil on c♊anvas, 128.42 by 100.48 cm., inv. no. 1987.11.; 💮Oil on canvas, 66 by 51 cm., inv. no. 2317 / 1890.