The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York have received Francesco Salviati’s portrait of Bindo Altoviti as a gift from from the trust of Assadour "Aso" O. Tavitian. Described by the museum as 'one of the most exceptional examples of italian renaissance portraiture', this rare and extraordinary painting was completed on a one-inch thick marble slab. The sitter, Bindo Altoviti, was an influential financier and courtier and secured important loans to various Popes and European states during his lifetime. The painting is now on view in the MET's gallery dedicated to Italian renaissance sculpture and decorative arts.
