Alessandro de' Medici

This painting is a preliminary study of Alessandro de’ Medici that Jacopo da Pontormo and his workshop could consult during the creation of larger, formal portraits. Born the illegitimate child of Pope Clement VII and an enslaved African woman named Simonetta, Alessandro was appointed Duke of Florence in 1529. Known as “il Moro” (the Moor), then a common descriptor for people of African descent, his attempts to centralize authority fueled his reputation as a shrewd but tyrannical ruler. His short-lived reign ended with his assassination at his cousin’s hand.