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The Medici Dynasty: Renaissance in Florence, opening tomorrow, Saturday, Dec. 13, at The Ashley Gibson Barnett Museum of Art, offers visitors the opportunity to see over 60 pieces of Renaissance art and artifacts. Admission and parking at the museum is always free.
“This is an exciting exhibit for us,” said Interim Executive Director Daryl Ward. “It’s an exciting time for our community and an exciting time in the history of the museum. There’s works here from the Medici period, Italian Renaissance, never before been out of Italy, certainly never been seen in the United States, and so the very first time that people will get to see those is right here in Lakeland, Fla., at The AGB Museum of Art.”
The exhibit gives viewers a glimpse into the Medici family through portraits produced as early as the 15th century and as recently as the 19th century, alongside artifacts like armor, shields and family seals.
“I think when a lot of patrons, or even casual patrons of the arts, hear the word Renaissance, they think about the work by the great masters, understandably,” Ward said. “This is not really that type of show. It’s works that demonstrate, kind of, a slice of life in the family of the Medicis.”
Behind the Curtain
“We’re going to take you behind the curtain … and let you see a little bit of what life was like there during that time frame,” said Ward.
He said the exhibit also has a lot more wall text than is typical for an exhibit at The AGB, “but it has a really intentional purpose — to educate our patrons on the family, the Medici family, not so much, the famous Renaissance painters … we know a lot about them, but we don’t know a lot about the families themselves.”
Martina Becattini, curator of paintings and decorative arts at the Stibbert Museum in Florence, Italy, originally curated a digital version of the exhibit as part of an online art history course offered to American college students during the pandemic.
Growing up in Florence, Becattini said she felt connected to the Medicis. She thought she knew their whole story. But putting the exhibit together changed her perspective. She said she felt as if she gained insight into their humanity as she learned family secrets.
For Becattini, the highlight of the show is actually a smaller portrait, “the portrait of Francesco I, the son of the first grand duke Cosimo I. It is made by Bronzino, Agnolo Bronzino, one of the best artists of the middle of the 16th century that created the style of the official portrait that … in the second half of the 15th century spreads through Europe.”
The AGB and Florida Southern College
Laura Putnam, manager of exhibitions and adult programs at the museum, said the exhibit was brought to Lakeland through a partnership with Contemporanea Progetti, a company that facilitates internationally traveling exhibitions. Putnam said she knew the Medici exhibit was the perfect fit for The AGB.
“You’re not just getting the artworks … You’re getting an in-depth analysis behind the scenes of the family drama,” Putnam said. “It adds this whole other element to experiencing Renaissance art, which I think is really exciting.”
Putnam said that partnering with Florida Southern College has allowed the museum to expand its offerings. “Romaine Brooks, the Medici, Rockwell, any of these big showstopper blockbuster exhibitions — I mean, we would never have been able to do it without the affiliation,” she said.
One of the museum’s biggest challenges is getting visitors through the doors to see these groundbreaking exhibits, said Putnam. “We’re free to the public. We have incredible things going on … and there’s still so many people that don’t know enough about us, that don’t come and take advantage of what we have to offer.”
Visit The AGB
The Medici Dynasty: Renaissance in Florence is open at The AGB at 800 E. Palmetto St., through April 12, 2026.
Museum hours:
- Tues, Wed, Fri, Sat: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Thursday: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
- Sunday: 1 to 5 p.m.
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