Giovio Series [SEP] named after
Giovio Series
The Giovio Series, also known as the Giovio Collection or Giovio Portraits, is a series of 484 portraits assembled by the 16th-century Italian Renaissance historian and biographer Paolo Giovio. It includes portraits of literary figures, rulers, statesmen and other dignitaries, many of which were done from life. Intended by Giovio as a public archive of famous men, the collection was originally housed in a specially-built museum on the shore of Lake Como. Although the original collection has not survived intact, a set of
copies made for Cosimo I de' Medici now has a permanent home in Florence's Uffizi Gallery.
Origins and history.
Giovio first began collecting portraits around 1512, soon after leaving his hometown of Como to pursue his career in Rome. Initially focused on men of letters, the collection grew to include military figures, kings, popes, artists and even a few renowned women. The series included illustrious men of ages past alongside those of his own day. Giovio intended his gallery to serve as a permanent public record