Lot 1041 Dα

Ferdinando was born to Cosimo II de' Medici and Maria Magdalena of Austria in 1610. His father died when he was just eleven years old and thus his mother, together with his grandmother Christine of Lorraine and a government council, took over the ruling of the grand duchy of Tuscany. Ferdinando became Grand Duke of Tuscany in 1628. His subjects appreciated him due to his mild temperament and his efforts in initiating better health care practices during a plaque epidemic in Tuscany. However, his reign also marked the beginning of a decline in the duchy's power which even a marriage to his twelve year old cousin Vittoria della Rovere in 1634 was unable to turn back. The Duchy of Urbino was not handed down to Vittoria, the last della Rovere heir, but the papal see after Pope Urban VIII exerted influence over her grandfather Francesco Maria della Rovere. The present work follows a similar portrait of Ferdinando in armour and a ruff painted in around 1627 which is today housed in the Palazzo Pitti in Florence.
We would like to thank Dr. Lisa Goldenberg Stoppato for examining this work in high definition photographs and confirming that the face of the sitter was most probably painted by Justus Susterman whereas the ruff and armour can be attributed to his workshop.