- Franciabigio
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orig. Francesco di Cristofano de Giudicisborn 1482/83, Florence?, Republic of Florencedied 1525, FlorenceItalian painter.He was inspired by the work of Raphael and for some years maintained a studio with Andrea del Sarto in Florence. He and Andrea's student Jacopo da Pontormo decorated the Medici family villa at Poggio a Caiano. He was a minor master of the High Renaissance style, best known for his portraits and religious paintings.
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▪ Italian painteralso called Francesco di Cristofano, Francesco Giudini, or Francesco Giudiciborn 1482/83, Florence [Italy]died 1525, FlorenceItalian Renaissance painter, best known for his portraits and religious paintings, whose style included early Renaissance, High Renaissance, and Proto-Mannerist elements. His early style is filled with movement and attention to descriptive detail, strongly reminiscent of 15th-century Italian painting. Later, he was attracted to the Florentine works of Raphael, as can be seen in his “Madonna del Pozzo” (c. 1508; Accademia, Florence). In the atrium of SS. Annunziata in Florence he painted the “Marriage of the Virgin” (1513) as a portion of a series in which Andrea del Sarto, a leading Florentine painter, was chiefly concerned. When the friars uncovered this work before it was quite finished, Franciabigio was so incensed that, seizing a mason's hammer, he struck at the head of the Virgin and some other heads, and the fresco, which would otherwise be his masterpiece in that medium, was mutilated.For a number of years, Franciabigio maintained a studio with Andrea del Sarto. Together with Andrea's student, Pontormo, they decorated the Medici villa at Poggio a Caiano, where Franciabigio's “Triumph of Caesar” displays his talent for narrative painting. Andrea's influence on Franciabigio may be seen in the dark, smoky background and the soft, dramatic lighting of the “St. Job Altar” (1516, Uffizi, Florence).* * *
Universalium. 2010.
