Luca Martini was a close friend of Bronzino and a member of the circle of literati at the Medici Court. A noted critic on Dante and a patron of the arts, he was by profession an engineer and served for much of his career as an advisor to Duke Cosimo I de'Medici. Cosimo designated Martini to administer the construction of the Loggia of the Mercato Nuovo in 1546 and in 1550 he was appointed to the important position of Provedditore dell'Ufficio delle Galee e Fossi in Pisa.
