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A brief history of the Strozzi family
A Florentine family in the fifteenth century
From 'The Civilisation of the Renaissance in Italy' by Jacob Burckhardt

The age in which we live is loud enough in proclaiming the worth of culture, and especially of the culture of antiquity. But the enthusiastic devotion to it, the recognition that the need of it is the first and greatest of all needs, is nowhere to be found in such a degree as among the Florentines of the fifteenth and the early part of the sixteenth centuries. On this point we have indirect proof which precludes all doubt.

It would not have been so common to give the daughters of the house a share in the same studies, had they not been held to be the noblest of earthly pursuits; exile would not have been turned into a happy retreat, as was done by Palla Strozzi; nor would men who indulged in every conceivable excess have retained the strength and the spirit to write critical treatises on the 'Natural History' of Pliny like Filippo Strozzi.

Our business here is not to deal out either praise or blame, but to understand the spirit of the age in all its vigorous individuality.
Strozzi patronage in Florence
A Florentine family in the fifteenth century
Alessandra Macinghi Strozzi (1407/8-1471) was the wife of Matteo Strozzi, exiled in 1434 by Cosimo de' Medici, and mother of Filippo. 73 of her letters from Florence to her exiled sons survive.

'A Florentine Family in the Fifteenth Century', by E.D.R. Bianciardi, was published in the Atlantic Monthly in 1881. The article gives quotations and paraphrases from an 1877 edition of Alessandra's letters; it closes with an account of the subterfuges adopted by Filippo Strozzi to avoid arousing Lorenzo de' Medici's jealousy when building the Palazzo Strozzi.
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Andrea di Cione (Orcagna)
1354-57
The Strozzi Altarpiece
Cappella Strozzi, Santa Maria Novella, Florence
Tommaso Strozzi commissioned the Cione brothers, Andrea and Nardo, to decorate the family's chapel, dedicated to St Thomas Aquinas. The altarpiece was made by Andrea. The iconographic program was worked out by Piero Strozzi, prior of Santa Maria Novella.
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Nardo di Cione
c. 1350
The Last Judgement
Fresco, Cappella Strozzi, Santa Maria Novella, Florence
Nardo completed the frescoes of the Last Judgment, Paradise and Hell.
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Gentile da Fabriano
1423
The Adoration of the Magi
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence
Commissioned by Palla di Noferi Strozzi for his family's chapel in the church of Santa Trinita in Florence. Signed and dated 1423.
Details:
The work draws on the illumination of the Adoration of the Magi in the Tres Riches Heures of the Duc de Barry (Folios 51 verso and 51 recto).
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Fra Angelico (pinnacles by Lorenzo Monaco)
1425
The Deposition (Pala di Santa Trinita)
Museo di San Marco, Florence
On the death of his son Alessio, Palla Strozzi commissioned this altarpiece for the sacristy of Santa Trinita in Florence.
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Desiderio da Settignano
c. 1460
Portrait of Marietta Strozzi
Staatliche Museen, Berlin
Marietta Strozzi, daughter of Lorenzo Strozzi.
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Benedetto da Maiano
1475
Portrait of Filippo Strozzi
Louvre
Filippo Strozzi was an enthusiastic patron of Benedetto da Maiano, who also carved the relief for his tomb and is credited with the design of the Palazzo Strozzi (below).
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Domenico Ghirlandaio
1482-85
Resurrection of the Boy
Santa Trinità, Florence
Not really a Strozzi commission, but the onlookers on the left in front of the Palazzo Spini include Maso degli Albizzi, Agnolo Acciaioli, Filippo (Palla) Strozzi the Elder and their wives and children, all posing for their portraits in their most splendid clothes.
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Benedetto da Maiano
Begun 1489
Palazzo Strozzi
Via Tornabuoni, Florence
An account of the planning of the palace is given by Filippo's son.
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Benedetto da Maiano
c. 1491
Madonna and Child
Santa Maria Novella, Florence
The Chapel of Filippo Strozzi is dedicated to the Apostles Philip and James. The chapel was ceded to Filippo Strozzi in 1486 and he is buried behind the altar in a tomb made of porphyry. The relief hangs over the tomb.
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Filippino Lippi
1487-1502
St John the Evangelist Reuscitating Druisana
Santa Maria Novella, Florence
The fresco occupies the left wall of the Strozzi chapel.
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Filippino Lippi
1487-1502
The Expuslion of the Devil by St Philip
Santa Maria Novella, Florence
The fresco occupies the right wall of the Strozzi chapel.
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Michelangelo Buonarotti
c 1503
The Holy Family with the infant St. John the Baptist (the Doni tondo)
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence
Commissioned on the occasion of the birth of Agnolo Doni and Maddalena Strozzi's first daughter. The Strozzi coat of arms (three crescent moons) is on the frame.
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Raphael Sanzio
1506
Portrait of Maddalena Doni
Galleria Palatina (Palazzo Pitti), Florence
The merchant Agnolo Doni married Maddalena Strozzi in 1503. The close attention to the materials of clothes and jewels draws attention to the couple's wealth.
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