Portrait of Pope Clement VIII (Ippolito Aldobrandini)

This portrait of Pope Clement VIII (1536–1605) was commissioned by Ferdinand I de' Medici (1549–1609) in 1601. It was executed in the commesso technique, an ancient mosaic technique rediscovered in Italy during the Renaissance and particularly popular at the Medici court. Ferdinand I had a special workshop set up at court where several of these artifacts were created. The Pope's portrait is one of the few commessi to have survived to the present day.

Romolo di Francesco Ferruci del Tadda (1544–1621), portrait of Pope Clement VIII (Ippolito Aldobrandini), Comesso, 97 cm × 68 cm, 1600–1601; source: J. Paul Getty Museum, https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/object/103RSD, Getty's Open Content Program, https://www.getty.edu/projects/open-content-program/.