Francesco francia biography

Italian painter, goldsmith, and medallist

Francesco Francia, whose real name was Francesco Raibolini ( – 5 January ) was an Italian painter, goldsmith, and medallist from Bologna, who was also director of the city mint.^[1][2]

He may have trained with Marco Zoppo and was first mentioned as a painter in His earliest known work is the Felicini Madonna, which is signed and dated He worked in partnership with Lorenzo Costa, and was influenced by Ercole de' Roberti's and Costa's style.

After he was influenced more by Perugino and Raphael. He had a large workshop and trained Marcantonio Raimondi, Ludovico Marmitta,^[3] 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