Portrait of Alessandro Strozzi, Called Beato Alessio

An inscription on the front of this canvas identifies the sitter as Alessandro di Jacopo Strozzi, later known as Beato Alessio. Born in Florence in 1350 to noble and wealthy parents, Alessandro Strozzi joined the convent of Santa Maria Novella at the age of fourteen and, despite the pleas of his family, chose the Dominican order. A cultured and respected theologian, Strozzi was elected as prior in 1381, yet two years later he was taken ill and died at the age of 31.