Portrait of Ugolino Martelli (before 1537) - Oil on panel, 102 x 85 cm, Staatliche Museum, Berlin
The Portrait of Ugolino Martelli is a painting by the Italian artist Agnolo di Cosimo, known as Bronzino, executed before 1537. It is housed in the Staatliche Museen of Berlin, Germany. The work is signed BRONZO FIORENTINO.
Ugolino Martelli was a Florentine aristocrat, a humanist and a linguist, whose palace can be seen in the background of the picture. The sculpture is a David of the family's collection, which was attributed at the time to Donatello, while it is now ascribed to Antonio or Bernardo Rossellino. The David was a traditional symbol of the Florentine freedom, and could be an allusion to Martelli adherence to the city's Republican party.
On the scholar's worktable a copy of the Iliad can be seen, while with the other hand he holds a work by Pietro Bembo.
Another portrait of Ugolino Martelli is housed in the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C.. It is attributed to Pontormo.
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