Portrait of Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany

By the time this was painted, in 1722, Cosimo III had been Grand Duke of Tuscany for more than 50 years, the longest reign the state ever had. He came to the throne in 1670 and would die the following autumn, in 1723, at 81. The Tuscany of these late years was a tired place: trade had fallen away, taxes were heavy, and a devout, rigid court set the tone. The portrait shows him formally, in the robes and regalia of the grand duke, the image a ruler leaves for the record rather than the man himself. He had already outlived the son meant to succeed him, and only a younger, childless son remained, so everyone at court knew the family was running out of heirs. Cosimo held the title to the very end, dying a year after he was fixed in this official likeness.