Francesco Rosselli

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rosselli's miniatures in a manuscript from the Iliad . Florence, Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana , Plut. 32.4, fol. 43r

Francesco Rosselli (* 1445 in Florence ; † between 1508 and 1513 there) was an Italian miniature painter and important engraver . His half-brother Cosimo Rosselli was also an artist and was involved in the design of the Sistine Chapel .

Fields of activity

High quality first prints are known that go back to Rosselli's copper plates. He is also referred to as a cartographer , although the research required for this was probably not part of his area of ​​responsibility, which was rather limited to engraving , decorating and selling the maps drawn by others. He made engravings of many major maps, including one of the first printed world maps to depict the areas discovered by Christopher Columbus . Earlier maps, which already showed what is now called America, had been copied by hand. However, it is controversial whether some of the prints that are ascribed to him can actually be attributed to him, as different stylus and engraving styles were used. This may be due to different artists in his workshop or to the mastery of different styles by him or his co-workers.

Work in Florence

Rosselli painted book illustrations for some of the most elaborate works made in 15th century Florence, including transcripts of Ptolemy's Geographia and liturgical works for the city's cathedral. He may also have created panel paintings . The so-called Tavola Strozzi , which shows the return of the Aragnosian fleet after the Battle of Ischia from the perspective of a view of the Bay of Naples, has occasionally been ascribed to him. Rosselli's copperplate engravings were heavily influenced by the pictures of his Florentine compatriot Sandro Botticelli . Among his best known works is a series of 15 engravings of the life of the Virgin and of Christ.

Working outside of Florence

In the 1580s he left Florence for Hungary due to debts caused by his brother. He left his wife and children with his half-brother Cosimo . In Hungary he made maps for the King of Hungary. After returning to Florence, he opened a shop selling his engravings.

Rosselli is believed to be the engraver of some maps added to the editions of Ptolemy's Geographia , which were published in Florence from 1480 to 1482. For 1503 and 1508, records show that he was in Venice at the time.

Exercising a "card trade"

In his shop he also sold tickets; it is the first known shop in which cards were sold in a commercial manner. His two most famous maps are dated 1506 and 1508. The Contarini-Rosselli map , his only signed and dated work from 1506, was the first printed map to depict the New World .

See also

literature

  • A Map of the World Designed by Gio Matteo Contarini Engraved by Franc. Rosselli 1506. London 1924.
  • Roberto Almagia: On the Cartographic Work of Francesco Rosselli. In: Imago Mundi. Volume 8, 1951, pp. 27-34.

Web links

Commons : Francesco Rosselli  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Arthur R. Blumenthal: Cosimo Rosselli, Painter of the Sistine Chapel. Exhibition catalog, Cornell Fine Arts Museum, Rollins College, Winter Park, Florida 2001.
  2. ↑ Konrad Oberhuber in Levinson: 48–59 discusses this topic in detail
  3. ↑ a b c Levinson: 47
  4. ↑ Jay A. Levenson, Konrad Oberhuber and Jacquelyn L. Sheehan: Early Italian Engravings from the National Gallery of Art. National Gallery of Art, Washington DC 1973, pp. 47–62.
  5. ↑ Suzanne Boorsch: The Case for Francesco Rosselli as the engraver of Berlinghieri's Geographia . In: Imago Mundi. Volume 56, No. 2, 2004, pp. 152-169.
personal data
SURNAME Rosselli, Francesco
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Italian miniature painter and engraver
DATE OF BIRTH 1445
PLACE OF BIRTH Florence
DATE OF DEATH between 1508 and 1513
Place of death Florence