Michele Tosini, also called ''Michele di Ridolfo'', (1503–1577) was an Italian painter of the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

and

Mannerist Mannerism is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Italy, when the Baroque style largely replaced it ...

period, who worked in

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

Biography

He apprenticed initially with

Lorenzo di Credi Lorenzo di Credi (1456/59 – January 12, 1537) was an Italian Renaissance painter and sculptor best known for his paintings of religious subjects, and portraits. With some excursions to nearby cities, his whole life was spent in Florence. ...

and

Antonio del Ceraiolo Antonio del Ceraiolo, also known as Antonio di Arcangelo (the nickname "Ceraiolo" derives from the profession of his father, a ''ceraiolo'', or candle maker), was an Italian Renaissance painter active in his native Florence between 1518 and 1538. ...

, but then moved into the studio of

Ridolfo Ghirlandaio Ridolfo di Domenico Bigordi, better known as Ridolfo Ghirlandaio (14 February 1483 – 6 June 1561) was an Italian Renaissance painter active mainly in Florence. He was the son of Domenico Ghirlandaio. Biography He was born in Florence. Since he ...

, from whom he acquired the name ''Michele di Ridolfo'' or ''Michele (di Ridolfo) del Ghirlandaio''. Some sources claim Tosini was the son of Ridolfo, Freedberg, Sydney J. ''Painting in Italy, 1500–1600'', 3rd edn., page 620, 1993, Yale, but he was just a student of him. Lucretia5

Tosini began painting in the early 16th-century Florentine style of

Fra Bartolommeo Fra Bartolomeo or Bartolommeo (, , ; 28 March 1472 – 31 October 1517), also known as Bartolommeo di Pagholo, Bartolommeo di San Marco, Bartolomeo di Paolo di Jacopo del Fattorino, and his original nickname Baccio della Porta, was an Ital ...

and Andrea del Sarto (e.g. the ''Virgin of the Sacred Girdle'', c. 1525; Florence, San Marco). His acceptance of

Mannerism Mannerism is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Italy, when the Baroque style largely replaced it ...

was slow, but by the 1540s the influence of Salviati and

Bronzino Agnolo di Cosimo (; 17 November 150323 November 1572), usually known as Bronzino ( ) or Agnolo Bronzino, was an Italians, Italian Mannerism, Mannerist painter from Florence. His sobriquet, ''Bronzino'', may refer to his relatively dark skin or r ...

was visible in his work. After 1556, Tosini served as an assistant to

Giorgio Vasari Giorgio Vasari (30 July 1511 – 27 June 1574) was an Italian Renaissance painter, architect, art historian, and biographer who is best known for his work ''Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects'', considered the ideol ...

in the decoration of the ''Salone dei Cinquecento'' in the

Palazzo Vecchio The ( "Old Palace") is the town hall of Florence, Italy. It overlooks the , which holds a copy of Michelangelo's ''David'' statue, and the gallery of statues in the adjacent Loggia dei Lanzi. Originally called the ''Palazzo della Signoria'', a ...

. Through Vasari's example, Tosini adopted a vocabulary derived from the work of

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (6March 147518February 1564), known mononymously as Michelangelo, was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was inspir ...

and painted some of his best-known works in this manner (e.g. ''Night'', c. 1560; Rome, Galleria Colonna, and ''Leda'', c. 1560; Rome, Galleria Borghese). He executed several important commissions late in his career: the fresco decoration of three city gates of Florence (1560s), the altar in the chapel at the Villa Caserotta (1561), near San Casciano Val di Pesa, and the paintings on the sides and back of the tabernacle of the high altar of Santa Maria della Quercia (1570),

Viterbo Viterbo (; Central Italian, Viterbese: ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in the Lazio region of Italy, the Capital city, capital of the province of Viterbo. It conquered and absorbed the neighboring town of Ferento (see Ferentium) in ...

. According to Vasari, Tosini headed a large workshop that executed numerous altarpieces and paintings. He was also a notable portraitist. Tosini was a mentor to

Bernardino Poccetti Bernardino Poccetti (26 August 1548 – 10 October 1612), also known as Barbatelli, was an Italian Mannerist painter and printmaker of etchings. Biography Born in Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region ...

and

Francesco Brina Francesco Brina or Del Brina or Brini (1540 – 1586) was an Italian painter of the Mannerism, Mannerist period, active mainly in Florence. S. J. Freedberg ascribes his training to either Ridolfo Ghirlandaio or more likely his son, Michele di R ...

Collections

Michele Tosini is represented in the following collections amongst others: National Gallery, London;

Czartoryski Museum The Princes Czartoryski Museum ( ) – often abbreviated to Czartoryski Museum – is a historic museum in Kraków, Poland, and one of the country's oldest museums. The initial collection was formed in 1796 in Puławy by Princess Izabela Czartor ...

;

Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery The Hunterian is a complex of museums located in and operated by the University of Glasgow in Glasgow, Scotland. It is the oldest museum in Scotland. It covers the Hunterian Museum, the Hunterian Art Gallery, the Mackintosh House, the Zoology M ...

, University of Glasgow; McMullen Museum of Art at Boston College;

Palmer Museum of Art The Palmer Museum of Art is the art museum of Pennsylvania State University, located on the University Park campus in State College, Pennsylvania. Collections The museum has an increasing permanent collection of nearly 11,000 works. The colle ...

at Pennsylvania State University; State Museums of Florence Digital Archive, Italy; Galleria Borghese.

Notes

References

*Franklin, David (1998) "Towards a New Chronology for Ridolfo Ghirlandaio and Michele Tosini", ''Burlington Magazine'' 140, pp. 445–56. *Bolton, Roy (2009

"Michele Tosini: ''Allegory of Fortitude''", in ''Old Master Paintings and Drawings'', London, Sphinx Books, p. 58. . *
Grove encyclopedia entry in Artnet
* *Hornik, Heidi J. (2002) "The Strozzi Chapel by Michele Tosini: A Visual Interpretation of Redemptive Epiphany", ''Artibus et Historiae'' V.46, pp. 97-118.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tosini, Michele 1503 births 1577 deaths 16th-century Italian painters Italian male painters Painters from Florence Italian Mannerist painters Italian portrait painters