Tommaso Portinari was an Italian banker for the Medici bank in Bruges. He was a member of a prominent Florentine family, coming from Portico di Romagna, near Forlì; that family had included Dante's muse, Beatrice Portinari. His father was a Medici branch manager, and after his death in 1421, Tommaso and his orphaned brothers were taken in and raised in the household of Cosimo de' Medici. Today he is mainly remembered for two significant commissions of Early Netherlandish paintings.
Tommaso Portinari, detail of Portinari Triptych by Hugo van der Goes
Hans Memling's c.1470 Portrait of Tommaso Portinari and Portrait of Maria Portinari
The Medici Bank was a financial institution created by the Medici family in Italy during the 15th century (1397–1494). It was the largest and most respected bank in Europe during its prime. There are some estimates that the Medici family was, for a period of time, the wealthiest family in Europe. Estimating their wealth in today's money is difficult and imprecise, considering that they owned art, land, and gold. With this monetary wealth, the family acquired political power initially in Florence, and later in the wider spheres of Italy and Europe.
Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici
Cosimo de' Medici
Lorenzo de' Medici
The poor credit risk, Edward IV