Rosso Fiorentino

Rosso Fiorentino stood out in the Italian Renaissance for one reason—he was always bent on doing things his own way. By his early twenties he was in Florence, where he trained under Andrea del Sarto, but he clashed with the guild over pay and left town after a brawl with another painter. His sharp wit and quick temper made him just as famous as his colors.

Look for figures that seem to twist like they’re made of wet clay. His faces tilt at odd angles, shadows cut deep into skin, and robes bunch up as if someone just dropped them. He loved a bright, almost electric orange and used it like a signal in a crowd. The effect is unsettling—like a normal scene that’s about to tip sideways. Portraits like the one in Washington show that trick: a man’s calm gaze can’t hide the drama in every fold of his shirt.