Cosimo I de' Medici as Orpheus, the legendary musician from Greek mythology who subdued Cerberus whilst attempting to retrieve his beloved wife, Eurydice, from the realm of the dead. This sensuous portrayal of the youthful duke might symbolise the fresh Medici dynasty's aspirations for an age of tranquillity, his patronage of the arts and letters, or his 1539 union with Eleonora di Toledo—the piece perhaps having been commissioned to commemorate that occasion.