Alessandro, 2021

The portrait "Alessandro" is a portrait of Alessandro de’Medici, the Duke of Florence. Aidoo has been very intrigued by the story of Alessandro de’Medici who was the Head of the family. Born of an Italian father and an African mother whose background is hard to trace makes it quite a spectacle. Alessandro being favored by the heads of the family has caused a lot of animosity within the family. Not because of his skincolor for he was also well known under his nickname Il Moro meaning The Moor but of the sibling rivalries that took place when he held the position of Duke of Florence. It is very interesting that his story one of few in the history of Africans in Europe during that period is not quite often mentioned especially him being the head of the most prominent family in all of Europe.