History

At the remarkably early age of thirty-seven, Giovanni, second son of Lorenzo de’ Medici, became Pope Leo X, head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 March 1513 to his death in 1521.

Pope Leo X was a temporary resident at Castello di Marignolle, hosted by the owner at the time, Iacopo di Bongianni, a number of times in and around 1515.  In fact, the plaque above the main entrance commemorates this most historic resident and the Medici family.

A Short Biography of Pope Leo X:

Leo X was the last of the Renaissance popes before the dawn of the Reformation, but his role in the indulgence controversy left the indelible impression of his pontificate. Born Giovanni de’Medici in Florence on December 11, 1475, he was the second son of Lorenzo the Magnificent, patriarch of the powerful mercantile Medici family that had by the fifteenth century become prominent bankers and Florentine politicians. Leo’s father set him on a course to ecclesiastical service at an early age. He was named apostolic protonotary in 1483 and cardinal deacon of Santa Maria in Dominica in 1489. He received the best of humanist education in his father’s house, the most prominent of his tutors being Marsilio Ficino and Pico della Mirandola. After studying theology and canon law at Pisa between 1489 and 1492, he took up residence as cardinal in Rome. He would return to Florence later that year after the death of his father and live with his older brother, Pietro, until the family was exiled in 1494 as a result of the uprising spearheaded by Girolomo Savanarola.

The tumultuous exile of the Medicis from Florence led the young cardinal to travel across the Europe of his day, visiting France, Holland, and Germany between 1494 and 1500, which exposed him to the flourishing Renaissance humanism outside of Italy. When his brother Pietro died in 1503, Leo became the head of the Medici family and soon took a central role in Italian politics.  (read more . . .)

More information about the painting:

Pope Leo X called on Raphael, one of his favorite artists, to execute the portrait. Consequently, the Pope commissioned the painting. Leo X asked the work to be completed for a specific purpose and this is the reason the painting was moved from Rome to Florence as the Pope could not attend his nephew’s wedding in person in September 1518.  The portrait was placed over the main banquet table at the wedding celebrations of Leo X’s nephew, Lorenzo de ‘Medici, Duke of Urbino, with Madeleine de la Tour d’Auvergne, to make the wedding couples happy as well as the guests.

The work depicts the pontiff together with two cardinals, both belonging to the Medici family: the cousins Giulio de ‘Medici and Luigi de’ Rossi. However, it is the Pope who dominates the scene, depicted as both severe and important, with deep reds, golds, silvers and whites from which the furniture and valuable furnishings stand out. The open Bible in front of him was a well-known masterpiece of book production in the 14th century in Naples, illustrated for Queen Giovanna I by the most important illuminator of the Angevin court, Cristoforo Orimina, now conserved at the Kupferstichkabinett in Berlin.

One cousin, Giulio de’ Medici, was born in Florence on 26 May 1478. He would eventually become Pope Clement VII, a key player in the historical and artistic events of the High Renaissance.
The Medici were exiled from Florence when Giulio was in his twenties, giving him the opportunity to travel widely. After the family’s return to power in 1512, Giulio was nominated archbishop of Florence, Cardinal, and Papal Vice-Chancellor by his Medici cousin Pope Leo X. Raphael’s Portrait of Pope Leo X with two Cardinals represents the two men together, at the center and on the right of the composition.

The other cousin, Luigi de’ Rossi, was born in Florence on August 6, 1474, the son of Leonetto de’ Rossi and Maria de’ Medici, a member of the House of Medici. He and his cousin were educated together.
Early in his career, he became a protonotary apostolic.
Pope Leo X made him a cardinal priest in the consistory of July 1, 1517. He received the red hat and the titular church of San Clemente on July 6, 1517.

The painting is considered “one of the most revolutionary masterpieces to be completed by Raphael.”

Sources:
Raphael-Sanzio.com
Wikipedia
ItalianArtSociety.org
The Florentine, October 2020