Francesco Francia

1450 - 1517 Italian

Bolognese painter, goldsmith, and medallist

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, until 1506, when Francia became a court painter in Mantua, after which time he was influenced more by Perugino and Raphael. He himself 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. Among his works is the Baptism of Christ in the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum in Lisbon.