Allori, Alessandro (c. 1535-1607)

Florentine painter. His style was strongly influenced both by Bronzino, under whom he studied, and by Michelangelo. Among his best-known works are decorations in the Medici villa at Poggio a Caiano. He was the father of Cristofani Allori.

Allori was born in Florence, where he studied and spent most of his career. A visit to Rome in 1554-56 also brought him under the influence of Michelangelo, an influence visible in his frescoes from the early 1560s in the Church of Santissima Annunziata, Florence.

He was patronized by the Medici, contributing paintings in the manner of Bronzino to Duke Francesco I de' Medici's studiolo in the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, notably The Pearl Fishers (c. 1570). His later works, among them Birth of the Virgin (1602, Santissima Annunziata, Florence) and The Ascension (1603, San Michele, Prato), are in a softer, more relaxed style.

His son, Cristofani Allori, followed his father's footsteps in his career, but not in style; Cristofani's work reflected the baroque reaction against earlier trends.