Bronzino's Andrea Doria

A focused presentation of Agnolo Bronzino’s stunning allegorical portrait of the great Genoese pilot Andrea Doria portrayed as Neptune, the god of the sea. The painting entered the collections of the Pinacoteca di Brera in 1898 after being purchased for 4,000 liras from Alfredo Rovelli, son of Carlo, heir to the collection of Paolo Giovio. Giorgio Vasari argues that the portrait was made immediately after the artist's return from Pesaro in 1532. Its original character would influence later renditions of Andrea Doria for decades. All the elements of an official portrait can be found in the painting: the proud posture of the sitter, the pillar and the offset curtain.