The Portrait of Lucrezia Panciatichi is an oil on panel painting by the Italian artist Agnolo di Cosimo, known as

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 ...

, finished around 1545. It is a

pendant A pendant is a loose-hanging piece of jewellery, generally attached by a small loop to a necklace, which may be known as a "pendant necklace". A pendant earring is an earring with a piece hanging down. Its name stems from the Latin word ...

to the portrait of her husband, Bartolomeo Panciatichi. Both paintings are in the

Uffizi The Uffizi Gallery ( ; , ) is a prominent art museum adjacent to the Piazza della Signoria in the Historic Centre of Florence in the region of Tuscany, Italy. One of the most important Italian museums and the most visited, it is also one of th ...

Gallery 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 ...

, Italy. Lucrezia di Sigismondo Pucci was the wife of Bartolomeo Panciatichi, a Florentine humanist and politician.

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 ...

describes the two portraits as: "so natural that they seem truly living". The refined garments and jewelry reflect her elite social position and aspects of her identity as a devoted wife. The words "Amour dure sans fin" ("love endures without end") appear on her golden necklace. The portrait is mentioned and described in the novel ''

The Wings of the Dove ''The Wings of the Dove'' is a 1902 novel by Henry James. It tells the story of Milly Theale, an American heiress stricken with a serious disease, and her effect on the people around her. Some of these people befriend Milly with honourable ...

'' (1902) by

Henry James Henry James ( – ) was an American-British author. He is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language. He was the ...

. The portrait is also alluded in the Victorian ghost story “Amour Dure” by

Vernon Lee Vernon Lee was the pseudonym of the French-born British writer Violet Paget (14 October 1856 – 13 February 1935). She is remembered today primarily for her supernatural fiction and her work on aesthetics. An early follower of Walter Pater, ...

. Further, this portrait has a central role in " The House of Stairs" (1988) by

Ruth Rendell Ruth Barbara Rendell, Baroness Rendell of Babergh, (; 17 February 1930 – 2 May 2015) was an English author of thrillers and psychological murder mysteries. Rendell is best known for creating Chief Inspector Wexford.The Oxford Companion ...

writing as

Barbara Vine Ruth Barbara Rendell, Baroness Rendell of Babergh, (; 17 February 1930 – 2 May 2015) was an English author of thrillers and psychological murder mysteries. Rendell is best known for creating Chief Inspector Wexford.The Oxford Companion ...

Kingsmarkham Enterprises ISBN 0-517-57252-4. This portrait is often mistaken for that of

Elizabeth Báthory Countess Elizabeth Báthory of Ecsed (, ; ; 7 August 1560 – 21 August 1614) was a Hungarian noblewoman and alleged serial killer from the powerful House of Báthory, who owned land in the Kingdom of Hungary (now Slovakia). Báthory and fo ...

References

External links

Panciatichi, Lucrezia Panciatichi, Lucrezia 1545 paintings Panciatichi, Lucrezia Panciatichi, Lucrezia Panciatichi, Lucrezia Paintings by Bronzino in the Uffizi Books in art Oil on panel paintings {{1540s-painting-stub

See also

References

External links