Portrait of Silvestro Aldobrandini by Ridolfo Ghirlandaio

Portrait of Silvestro Aldobrandini c. 1550

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Ridolfo Ghirlandaio's *Portrait of Silvestro Aldobrandini* (c. 1550) is a prime example of High Renaissance portraiture. The painting depicts a young man, likely Silvestro Aldobrandini, a member of the prominent Aldobrandini family, dressed in fashionable attire and holding a letter. The sitter's calm demeanor and direct gaze, paired with the subdued palette and meticulously rendered details, evoke the intellectualism and refinement associated with the Italian Renaissance. The work can be found at the Minneapolis Institute of Art.

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minneapolisinstituteofart about 1 year ago

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Silvestro Aldobrandini (1499–1558) was a distinguished jurist who taught law at the University of Pisa and held public office in the city-state of Florence. In 1530, when the powerful Medici banking family regained control of Florence, Aldobrandini was exiled. He remained a politically involved lawyer and eventually was employed by the pope. He died in Rome in 1558. Ghirlandaio shows him dressed with severe elegance in black, holding a letter. The ring on his index finger clearly displays the Aldobrandini coat of arms.