Francesco Primaticcio

Francesco Primatice (* April 30, 1504 in Bologna, † 1570 in Paris) was an Italian painter, sculptor and architect of Mannerism and a co-founder of the school of Fontainebleau.

Life

Primatice worked since 1525 Rosso Fiorentino in the design of the Palazzo del Te in Mantua. In 1532 he came at the invitation of the French king Francis I at Fontainebleau. There he worked at the Rosso's side in the design of the castle, the preferred residence of the French king. As Rosso died in 1540, is Primatice just kept on in Rome to buy antiques and to make plaster casts of famous antique sculptures, which should be watered again in Fontainebleau. Here he learned Vignola know, who followed him for a short time to France.

After his return to France he took Rosso's duties as head of the construction and decoration work in Fontainebleau. As a result, he developed a rich and diverse activities. He was responsible for monitoring the bronze castings according to brought from Rome plaster copies, including the Laocoon group for the royal sculpture collection. He headed the graphics workshop, with its rich production on its own templates and after those of Rosso, Luca Penni and others. The supervision of the carpet weaving of Fontainebleau and designs for the tapestries were also part of his duties. He designed the caves in the castle and led the decorations for the gallery of Ulysses, which was destroyed in 1738, for the bedroom of the king's favorite, the Duchess d' Etampes, also no longer get and for a series of baths and lounges that were below the gallery Francois Ier, and which are also not obtained. This bathing rooms were luxurious and equipped in a conscious link with the Roman bathing culture. Here there were masterpieces of the royal collection of paintings, such as the Virgin of the Rocks by Leonardo or the charity of Andrea del Sarto. The paintings were fitted into the framework of stucco. The appearance of these spaces is only transmitted by individual preparatory drawings and engravings.

The successor Francis I, his son Henry II, who ascended the throne in 1547 and ruled until 1559, preferred other castles as the favorite residence of his father and he employed other artists, mainly of French origin, though they were usually trained in Fontainebleau. The focus of his art promotion shifted to Paris. Although Primatice decorated 1552-1556 the gallery Henry II at Fontainebleau, was now also time to work for private clients, especially for the Guises. For the Parisian palace of the Duke of Guise, he painted of the chapel with an Adoration of the Magi, which has been like so many of his frescoes destroyed.

After the death of Henry II in 1559, he received from the widow Catherine de 'Medici, the guess Primaticcio works, back orders. He followed the Philibert used by Henri II as overseer of the royal buildings de l'Orme in the office. In this role, he oversaw the construction work on the royal palaces, whose murals as well as the work of the sculptor, who worked on the tombs of the kings at St. Denis.

Works

  • Destroyed gallery of Ulysses, Fontainebleau, 1738
  • , Destroyed the bedroom of the Duchess of Etampes, Fontainebleau largely
  • Aile de la belle cheminée, Fontainebleau, 1568
  • Chapel of the Valois in Saint- Denis
  • Château neuf of the castle of Saint- Germain -en- Laye, with interruptions, 1558-1570
  • Design double head, bronze, 56 cm high, 1543-1570 Provenance:. Collection Saint-Laurent/Bergé, then Alexis ball
Italy Laocoön Saint-Denis Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye Zeno.org Integrated Authority File
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