Portrait of Ferdinando II de' Medici Dressed in Oriental Costume
by SUSTERMANS, Justus, Oil on canvas, 64 x 50 cm
Called “the wisest of princes and the prince of wise men” - perhaps for his protection of Galilei and other scientists - Ferdinando II also enjoyed life. However, the sumptuous entertainments held in the Palazzo Pitti and the galleries and theatre of the Uffizi were underwritten by extraordinarily heavy taxation. Now too grand for trade, the Medici were sliding into chronic financial crisis.