Francia

Francia , c.1450-1517, Italian painter, goldsmith, and medalist of the early Bolognese school, whose real name was Francesco Raibolini. Until the age of 40 he was famous chiefly as a goldsmith and engraver of nielli and of dies for medals. His paintings reflect the influence of Perugino and Raphael. Among the most noted are Crucifixion (Louvre); Pietà (National Gall., London); and Assumption (Church of San Frediano, Lucca). Others include Head of the Virgin (Pa. Acad. of the Fine Arts); Madonna (Gardner Mus., Boston); a portrait of Federigo Gonzaga (Metropolitan Mus.); and Madonna and Child (National Gall. of Art, Washington, D.C.).

Bibliography: See study by G. C. Williamson (1907).

Francia, Francesco ( Francesco Raibolini) (b Bologna, c.1450; d Bologna, 1517/18). The outstanding Bolognese painter of his period. He originally trained as a goldsmith and had several other skills, being recorded as a sculptor, miniaturist, and engraver of nielli. However, from about 1485 he worked mainly as a painter, principally of altarpieces for churches in Bologna and neighbouring towns and of small devotional works; he was also an accomplished portraitist. His softly rounded style was strongly influenced by Perugino. According to Vasari, Francia died of ‘grief’ after seeing Raphael's St Cecilia (c.1515, Pinacoteca Nazionale, Bologna), which made his own paintings look hopelessly old-fashioned. There are several examples of his work in the National Gallery, London.