Francesco Francia
Francesco Francia, whose real name was Francesco Raibolini was an Italian painter, goldsmith, and medallist from Bologna, who was also director of the city mint.
He may have trained with Marco Zoppo and was first mentioned as a painter in 1486. His earliest known work is the Felicini Madonna, which is signed and dated 1494. He worked in partnership with Lorenzo Costa, and was influenced by Ercole de' Roberti's and Costa's style. After 1505 he was influenced more by Perugino and Raphael. He had a large workshop and trained Marcantonio Raimondi, Ludovico Marmitta, and several other artists; he produced niellos, in which Raimondi first learnt to engrave, soon excelling his master, according to Vasari. Raphael's Santa Cecilia is supposed to have produced such a feeling of inferiority in Francia that it caused him to die of depression. However, as his friendship with Raphael is now well-known, this story has been discredited.
He died in Bologna. His sons Giacomo Francia and Giulio Francia were also artists.
Works (selection of paintings)
Until 1500
Crucifixion with St. John and St. Jerome, c. 1485, 52 cm x 33 cm, oil on wood, Palazzo d'Accursio, BolognaThe Holy Family, c. 1485, 54 cm x 40 cm, oil on wood, Gemäldegalerie, BerlinThe Virgin and Child with an Angel, c. 1490, 58 cm x 44 cm, oil on wood, Carnegie Museum of Art, PittsburghBartolomeo Bianchini, c. 1485–1500, 57 cm x 41 cm, oil on wood, National Gallery, LondonBaptism of Jesus, c. 1490, 29 cm x 55 cm, oil on wood, Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, LisbonMadonna and Child with two Angels, c. 1495, 64 cm x 49 cm, oil on wood, Alte Pinakothek, MunichPala Calcina, 1500, 193 cm x 151 cm, tempera and oil on canvas, Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg
Years 1500-10
Madonna and Child, c. 1500, 67 cm x 52 cm, oil on wood, Wallington Hall, National Trust, NorthumberlandMadonna and Child with Saints Francis and Jerome, 1500–10, 75 cm x 57 cm, tempera on wood, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New YorkThe Annunciation with St. Albert the Carmelite, c. 1503–04, 182 cm x 132 cm, oil on canvas, Musée Condé, ChantillyAdoration of the Child, 1500–05, 175 cm x 132 cm, oil on wood, Alte Pinakothek, Munich Evangelista Scappi, 1500–05, 55 cm x 44 cm, oil on wood, Uffizi, FlorenceBishop Altobello Averoldo, c. 1505, 54 cm x 41 cm, oil on wood, National Gallery of Art, WashingtonCrucifixion, c. 1505, 246 cm x 146 cm, oil on wood, San Giacomo Maggiore, BolognaThe life of Saint Cecilia and her husband Valerian - scene 1 & 10, 1504–1506, 360 cm x 290 cm, frescoes, Oratorio di Santa Cecilia, BolognaVenus and Cupid, 1505–10, 80 cm x 49 cm, oil on wood, Musée des Beaux-Arts de MulhouseBaptism of Jesus, 1509, 209 cm x 169 cm, oil on wood, Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden
After 1510
The Holy Family, c. 1510, 64 cm x 49 cm, oil on wood, Museum of Fine Arts, BudapestFederico Gonzaga, 1510, 45 cm x 34 cm, oil on wood transferred to canvas and finally again on wood, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New YorkPortrait likely Isabella d'Este, 1511, 44 cm x 35 cm, oil on wood, ViennaPala Buonvisi, 1510–12, 195 cm x 180 cm, oil on wood, National Gallery, LondonPresentation of Jesus in the temple, 1510–13, 201 cm x 145 cm, oil on wood, Pinacoteca Comunale di Cesena, ItalyVirgin and the Child and the Infant St. John the Baptist, 1510–15, 65 cm x 51 cm, oil on wood, São Paulo Museum of ArtVirgin and the Child and the Infant St. John the Baptist, c. 1515, 115 cm x 94 cm, oil on wood, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne