Portrait of Giovanni de' Medici

Giovanni de 'Medici was born in 1861 into the noble family, which was the birthplace of Pope Pio IV and Margherita, mother of San Carlo. He became a violinist and played in the Teatro alla Scala orchestra, accompanying the most famous singers, from Tamagno to Caruso and Adelina Piatti, and the most famous conductors, Toscanini first and even Giuseppe Verdi, in 1892, on the occasion of the celebrations for the centenary of the birth of Rossini. He funds the Ospedale Maggiore of 100,300 lire, reserving the usufruct. The Hospital Council entrusts the commission of the portrait to Pietro Aguglia, suggested directly by the benefactor, who poses in person for a fairly traditional painting (the character standing, near a balustrade) but realistic and defined in physiognomic features and with a pleasantly unmade background and indistinct. The work is one of the few testimonials of the artist's activity.