Painted by the celebrated Mannerist artist Jacopo Pontormo in 1539, the “Portrait of Maria Salviati” depicts the widow of the famous condottiero Giovanni delle Bande Nere and mother of Grand Duke Cosimo I de’ Medici. The little girl in Salviati’s arms was a child left in her care after the murder of her father Alessandro de’ Medici, who was the first duke of Florence and whose mother was an African slave. Therefore, this portrait may represent the first portrayal of a girl of African ancestry in European art. Buona visione!