Francesco Primaticcio
Francesco Primaticcio (born April 30, 1504 in Bologna , † 1570 in Paris ) was an Italian painter , sculptor and architect of Mannerism and a co-founder of the Fontainebleau School .
Life
Primaticcio worked under Giulio Romano on the design of the Palazzo del Te in Mantua from 1525 . 1532 he came at the invitation of the French king Francis I of Fontainebleau . There he worked alongside Rosso on the design of the castle, the preferred residence of the French king. When Rosso died in 1540, Primaticcio was in Rome to buy antiques and to make plaster casts of famous ancient sculptures that were to be replenished in Fontainebleau. Here he met Vignola , who followed him to France for a short time.
After his return to France, he took over Rosso's duties as head of construction and decoration work in Fontainebleau. As a result, he developed a rich and varied activity. His duties included monitoring the bronze casts based on the plaster copies brought from Rome, including the Laocoon group for the royal sculpture collection. He directed the graphic workshop with its rich production based on his own templates and those of Rosso, Luca Penni and others. Supervising the Fontainebleau carpet weaving mill and drafting the tapestries were also part of his duties. He designed the grottoes in the castle and carried out the decorations for the Ulysses Gallery , which was destroyed in 1738, for the bedroom of the king's favorite, the Duchess d'Étampes, also no longer preserved, and for a series of bathing and bathing rooms Common rooms that were located below the Francois Ier Gallery and that have also not been preserved. These bath rooms were luxurious and equipped with a conscious connection to the Roman bathing culture. Here were masterpieces from the royal collection of paintings, such as the Madonna of the Rock by Leonardo da Vinci or the Caritas by Andrea del Sarto . The paintings were fitted into stucco frames. The appearance of these rooms has only been passed down through individual preparatory drawings and engravings.
The successor Francis I , his son Henry II , who ascended the throne in 1547 and reigned until 1559, preferred other castles than his father's favorite residence, and he employed other artists, mainly of French origin, who, however, were usually trained in Fontainebleau were. The focus of his art sponsorship shifted to Paris. Primaticcio decorated the Henri II Gallery in Fontainebleau between 1552 and 1556 , but now he also found time to work for private clients, especially the Guisen . For the Duke of Guise's palace in Paris, he painted the chapel with an Adoration of the Magi , which, like so many of his frescoes, has been destroyed.
After the death of Henry II in 1559 he received orders from the widow Katharina von Medici , who valued Primaticcio's works. He followed Philibert de l'Orme, appointed by Henri II as overseer of the royal buildings, into the office. In this role he oversaw the construction work in the royal castles, their painting and the work of the sculptors who worked on the tombs for the kings in St. Denis .
Works
- Galerie des Ulysses, Fontainebleau , destroyed in 1738
- Large parts of the bedroom of the Duchess of Étampes , Fontainebleau, destroyed
- Aile de la belle cheminée , Fontainebleau, 1568
- Chapel of the Valois in Saint-Denis
- Château neuf des Saint-Germain-en-Laye , with interruptions from 1558 to 1570
- Design Doppelkopf , bronze, 56 cm high, between 1543 and 1570. Provenance: Collection Saint-Laurent / Bergé , then Alexis Kugel
Web links
- Works by Francesco Primaticcio at Zeno.org .
Individual evidence
- ^ Propylaea of Art History, The Art of the 16th Century, page 189
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Primaticcio, Francesco |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Italian painter, sculptor and architect of Mannerism |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 30, 1504 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Bologna |
| DATE OF DEATH | 1570 |
| Place of death | Paris |