Ottaviano de'Medici e la sua collezione

arte e politica tra repubblica e ducato

Abstract

This essay traces the biographical and intellectual profile of Ottaviano de’ Medici (1482–1546) along with his activities as a patron and collector. Ottaviano hailed from a cadet branch of the Medici family and became a political and cultural adviser to Alessandro de’ Medici, the first Duke of Florence. He collected paintings by Lorenzo di Credi, Fra Bartolomeo, and Andrea del Sarto, among others, alongside an important gallery of dynastic portraits by Pontormo, Raphael, Titian, and Vasari. Despite the significance of his endeavors, Ottaviano has received scant scholarly attention. In addition to providing a revised and updated biography of him, this article examines why he has been marginalized in Medici historiography through the analysis of previously unpublished archival documents and the writings of Giorgio Vasari, who was closely associated with Ottaviano during his early years at the Medici court. Vasari’s texts also constitute a key source to reconstruct Ottaviano’s art collection, especially his portrait gallery, which can be viewed as the precursor to the series of Medici portraits known as the Serie Aulica, now exhibited at the Uffizi Galleries.