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Cosimo I and the Joseph Tapestries for the Palazzo Vecchio

1969; Iter Press; Volume: 18; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.33137/rr.v18i3.12696

2293-7374

Graham Smith,

Historical Art and Architecture Studies

In mid May, 1540, more than three years after he was named capo of Florence and more than a year after he was declared Duke, Cosimo I de' Medici (Fig. 1) moved with his wife and infant daughter from the Palazzo Medici on the Via Larga to the Palazzo dei Priori on the Piazza della Signoria.Cosimo himself referred to the event in a letter to his father-in-law, Pedro de Toledo, the Imperial Governor of Naples.After assuring Pedro that his daughter Eleonora was happy and in the best of health, Cosimo continued, "Et ella et io oggi col nome del N.^^^S.^^Idiosiamo entrati in possessione del palazzo maggiore dove sono stanze regali.Piaccia a S.Maestà divina che sia in buon punto, con salute e accrescimento delle per- sone nostre e de' figliuoli e con pace et tranquillità de' sudditi di questo dominio."În addition to transforming the former Palazzo del Popolo into a Palazzo Ducale, the Medici change of residence generated an extensive programme of modernization and decoration, which continued until Cosimo's death in 1574.One of the most important undertakings of the first phase of this pro- gramme was the production of a series of twenty tapestries in wool, silk, silver and gold for the Salone dei Duecento on the second floor of the palace, one of the ** stanze regali" mentioned by Cosimo in his letter and by far the grandest room in his own quarters.Based on designs by Bronzino, Pontormo and Salviati, and woven by the Netherlanders Janni Rost and Nicholas Karcher, the tapestries illustrate the life of Joseph.At least one tapestry was on the looms by October 1546; ten tapestries had been delivered by August 1549; and all twenty tapestries were recorded in an inventory of the ducal wardrobe made in 1553.The series is now divided between the Soprintendenza in Florence and the Palazzo del Quirinale in Rome.The Joseph tapestries have been discussed in considerable detail since their rediscovery in the nineteenth century.However,