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Maria Salviati
Maria Salviati (17 July 1499 – 29 December 1543) was a Florentine noblewoman, the daughter of Lucrezia di Lorenzo de' Medici and Jacopo Salviati. She married Giovanni delle Bande Nere and was the mother of Cosimo I de Medici. Her husband died 30 November 1526, leaving her a widow at the age of 27. Salviati never remarried; after her husband's death she adopted the somber garb of a novice, which is how she is remembered today as numerous late portraits show her attired in black and white.
Maria Salviati was born in Florence. She descended from two of Florence's most powerful banking families: the Salviati on her father's side, and the de' Medici on her mother's. Her maternal grandfather was Lorenzo "il Magnifico".
When her cousin, Alessandro de' Medici was assassinated in 1537, Maria used her family connections to get involved in the discussions to decide the next Duke of Florence. She played a key role in getting her son, Cosimo I de' Medici, elected.
Maria set up residence at Villa di Castello in northern Florence, where she would look after her grandchildren. Her son Cosimo had an illegitimate daughter named Bia de' Medici. Maria described Bia as a very happy and talkative little girl, often having long conversations with her.
Cosimo married Eleonora di Toledo in 1539. It was rumoured that Eleonora refused to tolerate Bia's presence in the palace after their marriage so Cosimo sent Bia off to live with Maria. Other sources say that Eleonora brought Bia up very lovingly. Bia shared a nursery with Giulia de' Medici an illegitimate daughter of Alessandro de' Medici, Duke of Florence, the pair being close in age. Maria knew who Bia's mother was but she would never tell Bia or anyone else the name of the woman. Both Bia and her cousin Giulia contracted a virulent fever; Giulia recovered from the illness but Bia only worsened and eventually died on 1 March 1542 aged only five years. Maria and Cosimo were said to be very sad by her loss.[citation needed]
Maria died one year after Bia on 29 December 1543.
In the portrait called "Maria Salviati with Giulia de' Medici", there are many theories on who the portrait portrays. However, the almost universally accepted portrait is the one depicted by Pontormo in 1543-1544. The different theories arise from the overpainting of the portrait as well as the views of different sellers.
At the end of the nineteenth century, the work was attributed to Piombo where the portrait looked different by the child being taken out and the single women identified as being Vittoria Colonna. In 1937, the overpaint done by Piombo was removed, revealing the child where Edward S. King (1940) believed the child to be a boy publishing it as the work of Maria Salviati and Her Son Cosimo. Others came forward disagreeing with the sex of the child based on the King's argument. It was not until 1992, where Gabrielle Langdon proposed the painting of the child to not only be a girl, but Giulia de' Medici. He was able to discover this based on the different attributes the painting held. He pointed out that the child was under the age of 7, the connection between the bare throat of Maria's and the child is strong showing femininity, as well as being shown as vulnerable under the protection of Maria Salviati.
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Maria Salviati
Maria Salviati (17 July 1499 – 29 December 1543) was a Florentine noblewoman, the daughter of Lucrezia di Lorenzo de' Medici and Jacopo Salviati. She married Giovanni delle Bande Nere and was the mother of Cosimo I de Medici. Her husband died 30 November 1526, leaving her a widow at the age of 27. Salviati never remarried; after her husband's death she adopted the somber garb of a novice, which is how she is remembered today as numerous late portraits show her attired in black and white.
Maria Salviati was born in Florence. She descended from two of Florence's most powerful banking families: the Salviati on her father's side, and the de' Medici on her mother's. Her maternal grandfather was Lorenzo "il Magnifico".
When her cousin, Alessandro de' Medici was assassinated in 1537, Maria used her family connections to get involved in the discussions to decide the next Duke of Florence. She played a key role in getting her son, Cosimo I de' Medici, elected.
Maria set up residence at Villa di Castello in northern Florence, where she would look after her grandchildren. Her son Cosimo had an illegitimate daughter named Bia de' Medici. Maria described Bia as a very happy and talkative little girl, often having long conversations with her.
Cosimo married Eleonora di Toledo in 1539. It was rumoured that Eleonora refused to tolerate Bia's presence in the palace after their marriage so Cosimo sent Bia off to live with Maria. Other sources say that Eleonora brought Bia up very lovingly. Bia shared a nursery with Giulia de' Medici an illegitimate daughter of Alessandro de' Medici, Duke of Florence, the pair being close in age. Maria knew who Bia's mother was but she would never tell Bia or anyone else the name of the woman. Both Bia and her cousin Giulia contracted a virulent fever; Giulia recovered from the illness but Bia only worsened and eventually died on 1 March 1542 aged only five years. Maria and Cosimo were said to be very sad by her loss.[citation needed]
Maria died one year after Bia on 29 December 1543.
In the portrait called "Maria Salviati with Giulia de' Medici", there are many theories on who the portrait portrays. However, the almost universally accepted portrait is the one depicted by Pontormo in 1543-1544. The different theories arise from the overpainting of the portrait as well as the views of different sellers.
At the end of the nineteenth century, the work was attributed to Piombo where the portrait looked different by the child being taken out and the single women identified as being Vittoria Colonna. In 1937, the overpaint done by Piombo was removed, revealing the child where Edward S. King (1940) believed the child to be a boy publishing it as the work of Maria Salviati and Her Son Cosimo. Others came forward disagreeing with the sex of the child based on the King's argument. It was not until 1992, where Gabrielle Langdon proposed the painting of the child to not only be a girl, but Giulia de' Medici. He was able to discover this based on the different attributes the painting held. He pointed out that the child was under the age of 7, the connection between the bare throat of Maria's and the child is strong showing femininity, as well as being shown as vulnerable under the protection of Maria Salviati.