A vivid, dramatic and authoritative account of the most influential family in Italian history: The Medici. Against the background of an age that saw the rebirth of ancient and classical learning, Strathern explores the intensely dramatic rise and fall of the Medici family in Florence, as well as the Italian Renaissance which they did so much to sponsor and encourage. He follows the lives of many of the great Renaissance artists and scientists with...

Between 1512 and 1570, Florence underwent dramatic political transformations. As citizens jockeyed for prominence, portraits became an essential means not only of recording likeness but also of conveying a sitter's character, social position, and cultural ambitions. This book explores the ways that painters, including Jacopo Pontormo, Agnolo Bronzino, and Francesco Salviati, sculptors such as Benvenuto Cellini, and others, endowed Florentine portraiture...