Giuliano de' Medici
Artist: Sandro Botticelli (Italian, c. 1445-1510)
Date: c. 1478/1480
Medium: Tempera on panel
Collection: National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, United States
Giuliano de' Medici
Giuliano de' Medici (28 October 1453 – 26 April 1478) was the second son of Piero de' Medici (the Gouty) and Lucrezia Tornabuoni. As co-ruler of the Florentine Republic, with his brother Lorenzo the Magnificent, he complemented his brother's image as the "patron of the arts" with his own image as the handsome, sporting "golden boy". He was killed in a plot known as the Pazzi conspiracy in 1478.
This portrait of young Giuliano de’ Medici was likely painted after his murder in 1478. The downward tilt of his head, lowered eyelids, half-open window, and turtledove on a dead branch can all symbolize death. Giuliano and his brother Lorenzo de’ Medici were targets of an assassination plot. Members of the Pazzi family wanted to remove the Medicis from power.
They were attacked in the Duomo (cathedral) of Florence during High Mass on Easter. Lorenzo escaped with wounds, but Giuliano was killed. Portraits of Lorenzo (such as this painted terracotta bust) were made to show citizens that he was still alive and in power. Those of Giuliano were commemorative.
