BEJEWELLED AND brocaded, she gazes serenely at the viewer. Agnolo di Cosimo, better known as Bronzino, finished the portrait of Eleonora di Toledo, the Duchess of Florence, in 1545. She was an active participant in public life: by the time Bronzino completed the painting, Eleonora had already stepped into her husband’s shoes three times as regent. The Medici dynasty would …
When Australian artist eX de Medici came across a video of performers sloshing around in hundreds of litres of animal blood, sharing a stage with the carcass of a freshly slaughtered bull, she couldn't bear to watch. At the time, tattoos were perceived as being the realm of bikers, miscreants and military louts – and de Medici's government-funded 'professional development' …