Portrait of Pope Pius IV Medici

The engraving shows Pius IV Medici, the Pope who in 1561 reopened the proceedings of the ecumenical Council that had been suspended in April 1552 due to the exacerbation of the conflict between Charles V and the king of France Henry II. Published posthumously by Antonio Lafreri, the engraving depicts the pontiff wearing the ‘mozzetta’ and the ‘camauro’ at the centre of an elaborate frame, at the top of which stands out the Medici’s coat of arms held up by two little angels.