Francesco Primaticcio

Happy Birthday Francesco Primaticcio!! Italian born (1504) is known as an impresario or master painter, sculptor, architect, and interior decorator. He was head of the school of Fountainbleau (palace near Paris) and helped found that style which proved to be a great influence on French art. He worked with Rosso (an emotional French painter of the time). One of his “duties” was to make casts of famous sculptures (including Michelangelo’s) and decorate the palace with castings from the molds. His work can be termed Mannerist and a great example is Holy Family with St. Elizabeth and John the Baptist below.

Mannerism: period of European art following the High Renaissance. When compared to the Renaissance Mannerism is less naturalistic and more artificial. The term can also be related to literature and music.