This tondo, where Cosimo is surrounded by his architects, engineers and sculptors, places itself in an ideal continuation of two previous paintings: Cosimo Pater Patriae circondato da letterati e artisti, located in the hall of Cosimo the Elder, and Lorenzo de' Medici fra filosofi e letterati, located in the hall of Lorenzo the Magnificent.
Acidini opens the volume by examining Alberti's influence on contemporary (Filippo Lippi) and later artists (Verrocchio and Leonardo); she suggests Alberti as the architect for Verrocchio's subterranean tomb-pilaster of Cosimo the Elder in San Lorenzo.