Portrait of Ortensia de Bardi di Montauto, formerly identified as Giulia de' Medici

Portrait of Ortensia de Bardi di Montauto, formerly identified as Giulia de' Medici, dated 1559 and in the Uffizi Gallery, illustrates how Florentine portrait identifications have been revised over time as archival research has caught up with surviving pictures. The original identification as Giulia de' Medici — an illegitimate daughter of Alessandro de' Medici — has been replaced by identification as Ortensia de Bardi, a noblewoman connected to the Florentine patriciate. The revision does not diminish the painting's quality; it does alter the social register slightly, from Medici dynastic image to patrician portraiture. Dated 1559, the work is among Allori's early independent portraits, painted when he was approximately twenty-four and beginning to establish his own practice alongside continued work in Bronzino's circle. The Uffizi's holding situates it within the comprehensive Florentine portrait collection that makes the museum the primary reference point for sixteenth-century Florentine portraiture.

Oil on panel at small to medium scale shows Allori's early mature technique: the Bronzinesque smooth surface is fully deployed, the costume rendering precise, and the sitter's expression contained within the aristocratic composure expected of Florentine portraiture. The work's high quality explains the long-standing Medici identification.