[3] Duke Cosimo I de' Medici (1519–1574) and his Spanish wife, Duchess Eleonora di Toledo (1522–1562), were Bronzino's most famous and longstanding patrons.

[4] Despite their wealth and connections, the Medici were merchant bankers whose political influence emerged from their clever business practices.

[1] Cosimo I de' Medici commissioned numerous works of art and architectural projects in an effort to enhance Florence's beauty and position himself as a powerful leader, dynasty securer, and educated, devout individual.

[1] Eleonora, her mother Doña María Osorio y Pimentel, and her siblings joined her father, Don Pedro de Toledo, at the luxurious court of Naples in 1534.

[1] Eleonora was an attractive prospect for marriage, having been born into Spanish aristocracy and growing up in a royal court with a father who was close to the Holy Roman Emperor.

[1] Eleonora's sharp economic ability and imperial connections benefited Cosimo's new government, while her eleven children guaranteed the new Medici family bloodline.

[1] The public opinion of Eleonora was split between those who viewed her as a woman who was hard to please as she enjoyed spending most of her time at the Medici rural homes as well as gambling, while others perceived her to be a Florentine monarch who refused to learn Italian and was overwhelmingly a devout Spaniard.

[4] Bronzino created both private and public portraits of the Duke, Duchess, and their kids in addition to religious and devotional pieces, allegories, and the chapel of Eleonora, which was his first significant commission for the Ducal union.

[1] This gesture referred to her role as mother exemplifying fertility, immortality, divine protection, and the terrestrial power of the elite.

[4] Bronzino used the powers of wealth and fertility of Eleonora to idealize her in the extravagantly decorated dress, which is the most attention seeking part of the portrait.

[1] Giovanni's baby fat-filled face is full and gleaming, a testament for his health and the potential promise that he will grow into being a ruler for the Medici family.

[5] The dress that Eleonora is wearing constitutes the wealth she brought with her from Spain due to the majority of her dowry being Spanish textiles.

[5] Her bodice constricts her chest into an unnatural cylinder, which, although undoubtedly uncomfortable, presents an ideal surface for the display of the magnificent pomegranate pattern of the fabric.

[5] In contrast, the textile industry of the sixteenth century would suggest that Eleonora's dress was manufactured domestically with silk.