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Insights | 14/05/2020

Leopoldo de’ Medici's systematic search for the “ritratto fatto di sua propria mano"

Leopoldo de’ Medici's systematic search for the “ritratto fatto di sua propria mano"

This article analyses Cardinal Leopoldo de’ Medici’s (1617–1675) systematic methods of collecting artists self-portraits, which are recorded in the extensive correspondence with his ‘agents’. These written sources provide information on strategies for buying as well as examining the self-portraits and reveal a methodical system of control to ensure they were authentic. Instead of documenting the artist's appearance, Leopoldo’s intentions were markedly different from the uomini illustri series created by Cosimo I. (1519–1574); rather, the Cardinal understood paintings as products of the hand of the specific artist and used the theories of physiognomy to test their authenticity.

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