Cristofano Allori was an Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 portrait painter of the late Florentine Mannerist school. Allori was born at Florence

Florence

Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....

 and received his first lessons in painting from his father, Alessandro Allori

Alessandro Allori

Alessandro di Cristofano di Lorenzo del Bronzino Allori was an Italian portrait painter of the late Mannerist Florentine school....

, but becoming dissatisfied with the hard anatomical drawing and cold coloring of the latter, he entered the studio of Gregorio Pagani

Gregorio Pagani

Gregorio Pagani was an Italian painter of the late Mannerist period, active mainly in Florence. He was the son of the painter Francesco Pagani, then became a pupil of Santi di Tito, then entered the studio of Ludovico Cigoli. He painted the St. Helena finding the Cross for Santa Maria del Carmine,...

, who was one of the leaders of the late Florentine school, which sought to unite the rich coloring of the Venetians

Venice

Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

 with the Florentine attention to drawing. Allori also appears to have worked under Cigoli

Cigoli

Lodovico Cardi , also known as Cigoli, was an Italian painter and architect of the late Mannerist and early Baroque period, trained and active in his early career in Florence, and spending the last nine years of his life in Rome.Lodovico Cardi was born at Villa Castelvecchio di Cigoli, in Tuscany,...

.

His pictures are distinguished by their close adherence to nature and the delicacy and technical perfection of their execution. His technical skill is shown by the fact that several copies he made of Correggio

Antonio da Correggio

Antonio Allegri da Correggio , usually known as Correggio, was the foremost painter of the Parma school of the Italian Renaissance, who was responsible for some of the most vigorous and sensuous works of the 16th century...

's works were thought to be duplicates by Correggio himself. His extreme fastidiousness limited the number of his works. Several specimens are to be seen at Florence and elsewhere.

The finest of his works is his Judith with the Head of Holofernes

Holofernes

In the deuterocanonical Book of Judith Holofernes was an invading general of Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar dispatched Holofernes to take vengeance on the nations of the west that had withheld their assistance to his reign...

. It exists in two copies in the Pitti Palace in Florence and in the Queen's Gallery

Queen's Gallery

The Queen's Gallery is a public art gallery located at Buckingham Palace, home of the British monarch, in London. It exhibits works of art from the Royal Collection The Queen's Gallery is a public art gallery located at Buckingham Palace, home of the British monarch, in London. It exhibits works of...

 in London. The model for the Judith was his mistress, the beautiful Mazzafirra, who is also represented in his Magdalene

Mary Magdalene

Mary Magdalene was one of Jesus' most celebrated disciples, and the most important woman disciple in the movement of Jesus. Jesus cleansed her of "seven demons", conventionally interpreted as referring to complex illnesses...

; and the head of Holofernes is generally supposed to represent himself.