Opening June 26, The Medici: Portraits and Politics, 1512–1570 will feature more than 90 works of art by some of the most celebrated artists of the Italian Renaissance, including Bronzino, Pontormo, Cellini, and many others

Some of the greatest portraits of Western art were painted in Florence during the tumultuous years from 1512 to 1570, when the city was transformed from a republic with elected officials into a duchy ruled by the Medici family. The key figure in this transformation was Cosimo I de’ Medici, who became Duke of Florence in 1537, following the assassination of his predecessor, Alessandro de’ Medici.