Revealing the African Presence in Renaissance Europe – Contemporary Response – Featured Image 2

Union of Pope Clement VII and Simonetta da Collevecchio, 72″x42″, rhinestones, acyrlic & glass on panel, Image courtesy of the artist and Morton Fine Art

VICTOR EKPUK’s “Union of Pope Clement VII and Simonetta da Collevecchio”

“Union of Pope Clement VII and Simonetta da Collevecchio” investigates the relationship between Pope Clement VII from the Medici family and a black slave woman, Simonetta da Collevecchio. Both were progenitors of Alessandro de Medici, called ill Moro (“the Moor”), Duke of Florence and Penne (1530-1537).

“Portrait of Duke Alessandro de Medici”, Courtesy of The Uffizi, Florence, Italy