Portrait of Eleanor of Toledo

Eleanor of Toledo (1522–1562) was the daughter of the Viceroy of Naples, Don Pedro de Toledo. This beautiful woman was represented by the Florentine painter Agnolo Bronzino several times. Here she is painted at about the age of 24, in the dress that she wore in 1539 on the occasion of a ceremonial arrival in Florence, where she married Duke Cosimo I de´ Medici.

The pearls on her luxurious Spanish style dress represent the emblem of Cosimo’s family (the Medici palle balls). The Duchess is touching her bodice, which could be a hint of her pregnancy.  Between 1540 and 1543 she gave birth to four children (later on, four more were born). She is wearing two rings; the diamond one was given to Eleanor by Cosimo at the wedding. The one worn on her small finger is decorated with a motif of joined hands symbolizing a firm marriage, and a plover in profile. Towards the end of her lifetime Eleanor suffered from tuberculosis, and her exhaustion was probably also caused by frequent deliveries.

We present this magnificent portrait of this powerful woman thanks to the National Gallery in Prague.

P.S. Read a story about another beautiful duchess here; she is Francisco de Goya’s muse. <3