around 1447 -1517 · Bolognese Renaissance, goldsmithing and classical sweetness

Melted modeling, calm landscapes, attentive portraits and graceful virgins make Francesco Francia the great Bolognese master between goldsmithing and the High Renaissance.

Francesco Raibolini, known as Francesco Francia, was born in Bologna around 1447. He first trained as a goldsmith and medalist, a profession in which he acquired exceptional precision in contour, relief and inscription. Admitted to the goldsmiths' guild in 1482, he was documented as a painter a few years later. His first works developed through contact with Lorenzo Costa and the culture of the Bentivoglio court. Altarpieces, Virgins and Children, portraits and scenes of the Passion combine sharpness of drawing, polished surfaces and measured emotion. Francia becomes one of Bologna's most sought-after painters. His virgins become one of Bologna's most sought-after painters. His Virgins have oval faces, a lowered gaze and a gentleness that recalls Perugino. The landscapes open behind them a calm space of hills and light. In the portraits, like Bartolomeo Bianchini or the young Federigo Gonzaga, costume, profile and gaze are described with the discipline of a medalist, but the fused modeling gives the model an inner life. His religious paintings avoid agitation: the Baptism of Christ or the Mourning of the Dead Christ are based on a clear composition, slow gestures and harmonious color. Francia runs an active workshop in which her sons Giacomo and Giulio participate. He also runs an active workshop in which his sons Giacomo and Giulio participate. He also makes coins, medals, nielles and precious objects, and exercises responsibilities at the Bologna Mint. Exchanges with Raphael, documented by tradition and the proximity of the works, reinforced the monumental grace of his style at the end of his career. Died in 1517, Francia was admired during his lifetime before being eclipsed by the High Renaissance generation. The "Francesco Francia" selection notably compares Bartolomeo Bianchini and Baptism of Christ. His reading favors composition.

Francia paints with the eye of a goldsmith: the outline is precise, the surface polished, but the softness of the modeling lets the face breathe.