The Return of Cicero to Rome

historical

The twenty-five-year old Ottaviano de' Medici, on behalf of Cardinal Giulio de' Medici and his cousin Pope Leo X, commissioned Andrea del Sarto, Franciabigio and Pontormo for decorations celebrating the pope's father, Lorenzo the Magnificent, and other family members inside the family's villa at Poggio a Caiano. The iconographical programme, designed by the historian Paolo Giovio, aimed to evoke the celebrations of the Medici house through a series of episodes drawn from Roman history. Work in the Salone was halted with the death of Leo X in December 1521.

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About the Artist

Franciabigio

1482 – 1525

Franciabigio (Francesco di Cristofano) was a Florentine painter, a minor master of the High Renaissance style. He was a pupil of Marinotto Albertinelli and collaborated with Andrea del Sarto (on the frescoes in the Annunziata church in Florence), who was the dominant influence on his style, as may be seen in his frescoes of this Convent. His best works are generally considered to be his portraits.

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