Anton Francesco degli Albizzi was a Florentine diplomat and a member of a prominent family.  The ambitious Albizzi supported Florence’s powerful ruling family, the Medici.  Later he became their adversary, and in 1537, he was publicly beheaded for treason by Cosimo I de’ Medici.  Albizzi probably commissioned this portrait from Sebastiano del Piombo while visiting Rome in the 1520s.

In this work, Sebastiano combines formal grandeur with a suggestion of the sitter’s personality.  The large figure of Albizzi dressed in rich clothes dominates the canvas.  Note how Albizzi’s sleeves seem to extend beyond the edges of the painting, further enhancing his stature and monumentality.  The forceful gesture of his right hand suggests control and strength.  The turn of the head and the dark, piercing eyes hint at a sharp intelligence.

During the Renaissance (1400-1550), portraits became an important subject in art, reflecting the belief in the importance of the individual and his or her relationship to other people.  The term used to describe this is “humanism,” a concept that emphasizes the worth of each individual and the importance of each person’s contribution to society.  The Renaissance world view, which saw people as capable of achievement and of controlling their own destinies, is mirrored in the development of portraits.

Sebastiano del Piombo, originally named Sebastiano Luciani, was probably born in Venice and received his early training there before arriving in Rome in 1511.  Sebastiano soon became a close friend and protégé of Michelangelo.  Sebastiano’s style, as seen in this work, combines the rich, sensuous textures of Venetian painting with the sculptural grandeur of Michelangelo’s style. He soon attracted the attention of Pope Clement VII.  In 1531, the Pope awarded Sebastiano the position of Piombo, or keeper of the papal seals, changing his name to Sebastiano del Piombo. Regardless of his title, he was always referred to simply by his first name, Sebastiano.

In his own time, as he is today, Sebastiano was greatly admired as a portraitist.  Giorgio Vasari, author of The Lives of the Artists published in 1556, wrote:

…Sebastiano, who had no equal in portrait painting… painted a portrait of the Florentine Anton Francesco degli Albizzi, who happened to be then in Rome on some business and he made it such that it appeared to be not painted but really alive; wherefore Anton Francesco sent it to Florence as a pearl of great price.¹

1. Giorgio Vasari, Lives of the Most Eminent Painters, Sculptors and Architects,vol. 2, translated by Gaston Du C. de Vere (New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc. 1979), p. 1313.