Marcantonio Franceschini (; 1648 – 24 December 1729) was an Italian painter of the

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

period, active mostly in his native

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

. He was the father and teacher of

Giacomo Franceschini Giacomo Franceschini (1672–1745) (also called Jacopo Franceschini) was an Italian painter. He was the son and scholar of Marc Antonio Franceschini, was born at Bologna in 1672. He painted historical pictures in the style of his father, and the ...

.''The picture collector's manual'' by James R. Hobbes London T&W Boone 1845 page 15

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Biography

He was a pupil of Carlo Cignani, with whom he worked on the frescoes in the Palazzo del Giardino in

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmigiano-Reggiano, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 ...

(1678–81). He worked closely for many years with his brother-in-law,

Luigi Quaini Luigi Quaini (1643–1717) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period. Biography He was born in Ravenna, and first learned the art of architectural perspective painting from his father, Francesco Quaini, a pupil of Agostino Mitelli. After s ...

, who also was the cousin of Cignani. Marcantonio Franceschini - Christ and the Woman of Samaria - 2009

Franceschini had a long career painting canvases on religious and mythological subjects for patrons throughout Europe. Franceschini decorated some ceilings in the

Palazzo Ranuzzi The Palazzo Ranuzzi, also called Palazzo Baciocchi or Palazzo Ruini, is a Baroque style palace in central Bologna. It is now houses the Court of Appeals of Bologna. The palace was built in the late-1500s, commissioned by the academic and lawyer Ca ...

(1680) and the Palazzo Marescotti Brazzetti (1682) in Bologna. He helped paint in the tribune at church of San Bartolomeo Porta Ravegnana (1690). Franceschini frescoed the ceiling of the ''Sala d'Onore'' ("Hall of Honor") in the Ducal Palace of Modena, commissioned in 1696 for the marriage of Rinaldo d'Este to

Princess Charlotte Felicity of Brunswick Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince. Princess as a subst ...

. He painted the altarpiece in the Cathedral of Finale Ligure and the canvas of ''San Carlo'' in the church of the same name in Modena. His massive program of historical and mythological scenes in the ''Sala del Maggior Consiglio'' of the Palazzo Ducale of

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...

(1701–1704) were destroyed by a fire in 1777. These had been completed with the help of

Tommaso Aldrovandini Tommaso Aldrovandini (21 December 1653 – 23 October 1736) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period. He mainly painted perspective views and architectural subjects (quadratura), in which the figures were painted by Marcantonio France ...

, Quaini, and Antonio Meloni. In addition, his decorations of the pendentives and lunettes of the

Piacenza Cathedral Piacenza Cathedral ( it, Duomo di Piacenza), fully the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta e Santa Giustina, is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Piacenza, Italy. The current structure was built between 1122 and 1233 and is one of the most valuable examp ...

were removed in the late 19th century. He decorated the church of

Corpus Domini The Feast of Corpus Christi (), also known as the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, is a Christian liturgical solemnity celebrating the Real Presence of the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ in the elements of ...

(1688–1694) in Bologna. He painted 26 canvases of the ''Seductions and Loves of the Diana and Venus'' (1692-1700) for the Viennese palace (now

Liechtenstein Museum The Liechtenstein Museum is a private art museum in Vienna, Austria. It contains much of the art collection of its owners, the House of Liechtenstein, Princely Family of Liechtenstein, rulers of the principality of Liechtenstein. It includes import ...

) of Prince Johann Adam I of Liechtenstein. He also served as a buyer for the art-patron Prince. In Genoa, he also painted for the palaces Spinola and the Palazzo Pallavicini (now Podestà) (1715) of

. The latter had five large canvases of the history of Diana. Canvases depicting ''The Four Seasons'' (1716) are now found in the Pinacoteca di Bologna. There are two canvases of the ''Story of Rachel'' in the Pinacoteca B.P.E.R. He painted the "cartoons" used to make the mosaic decoration of the

Cappella del Coro Cappella may refer to: * Cappella (band), Italian electronic music group * a cappella, unaccompanied singing People with the surname * Felix Cappella (1930-2011), Canadian race walker * Scipione Cappella (fl. 18th century), Italian painter See ...

in St. Peter's Basilica. Knighted by

Pope Clement XI Pope Clement XI ( la, Clemens XI; it, Clemente XI; 23 July 1649 – 19 March 1721), born Giovanni Francesco Albani, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 23 November 1700 to his death in March 1721. Clement XI w ...

, he was founding a member and a subsequent director of the Clementine Academy in Bologna. His paintings have an academic and idealist strain, even for a member of the Bolognese School of Painting. The sparse figures are severely arranged and often porcelain in features. He worked with a younger colleague,

Donato Creti Donato Creti (24 February 1671 – 31 January 1749) was an Italian painter of the Rococo period, active mostly in Bologna. Born in Cremona, he moved to Bologna, where he was a pupil of Lorenzo Pasinelli. He is described by Wittkower as the "Bol ...

. His style is often classified as ''Barochetto'', a mixture of

baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

and

rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...

; but it also could be said the neoclassical influence of French artists was beginning to overtake the baroque tradition. Wittkower describes him as the "Bolognese

Maratta Carlo Maratta or Maratti (13 May 162515 December 1713) was an Italian painter, active mostly in Rome, and known principally for his classicizing paintings executed in a Late Baroque Classical manner. Although he is part of the classical tradition ...

". Numerous painters worked and trained in his prolific studio. Among those who spent time as pupils, apprentices, or assistants were

, Luca Antonio Bistoia, Giacomo Boni,

Francesco Caccianiga Francesco Caccianiga (1700–1781) was an Italian painter and engraver. He was born in Milan. In Bologna, he became a pupil of Marcantonio Franceschini. He afterwards visited Rome, where he established himself under the patronage of Marcantonio B ...

, Ferdinando del Cairo,

Antonio Cifrondi Antonio Cifrondi (June 11, 1655 – October 30, 1730) was an Italian painter of the late Baroque, mainly of genre themes. He was active in Brescia and near Bergamo. He was born to a poor mason in Clusone. After some local training. Cifrondi moved ...

, Gaetano Frattini,

Giacinto Garofalini Giacinto Garofalini (1661–1723) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mainly in Bologna. He was initially a pupil of Donato Creti, then a pupil of the painter Marcantonio Franceschini. Also called ''Garofolini'' by Luigi Lanzi. He ...

, Carlo Cesare Giovannini, Ercole Graziani the elder, Girolamo Gatti,

Pietro Gilardi Pietro is an Italian masculine given name. Notable people with the name include: People * Pietro I Candiano (c. 842–887), briefly the 16th Doge of Venice * Pietro Tribuno (died 912), 17th Doge of Venice, from 887 to his death * Pietro II Can ...

Giuseppe Marchesi Giuseppe Marchesi (1699–1771) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mainly in Bologna. He was also known as ''il Sansone'' for his herculean build. He was first a pupil of the painter Aureliano Milani and then of Marcantonio Fra ...

(''il Sansone''), Michelangelo Monticelli, Giuseppe Pedretti, Pietro Francesco Prina, Pietro Antonio Avanizi,

Antonio Rossi (painter) Antonio Rossi (1700–1753) was an Italian painter of the late-Baroque or Rococo period, active mainly in Bologna. He was a pupil first of the painter Lorenzo Bergonzoni, and then of Marcantonio Franceschini. He was a member of the Accademia Cle ...

, Gentile Zanardi, and his son Jacopo. The Dulwich Picture Gallery (London), the Honolulu Museum of Art, the

Kunsthistorisches Museum The Kunsthistorisches Museum ( "Museum of Art History", often referred to as the "Museum of Fine Arts") is an art museum in Vienna, Austria. Housed in its festive palatial building on the Vienna Ring Road, it is crowned with an octagonal do ...

of Vienna, the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

, the Musei Civici of

Macerata Macerata () is a city and ''comune'' in central Italy, the county seat of the province of Macerata in the Marche region. It has a population of about 41,564. History The historical city centre is on a hill between the Chienti and Potenza ri ...

, the

Museo Glauco Lombardi The Museo Lombardi is a museum displaying an eclectic collection of 19th-century art and cultural works from Parma. It is located in the Palazzo di Riserva on Strada Garibaldi #5 in central Parma, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. History The museum was crea ...

(Parma, Italy), the

National Art Gallery of Bologna The National Art Gallery of Bologna (''Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna'') is a museum in Bologna, Italy. It is located in the former Saint Ignatius Jesuit novitiate of the city's University district, and inside the same building that houses the ...

(Italy), Bojnice Castle (Slovakia) and the State Museums of Florence are among the public institutions holding paintings by Marcantonio Franceschini.

Gallery

File:Franceschini, Marcantonio - The Guardian Angel - Google Art Project.jpg, ''The Guardian Angel'', 1716 File:Marcantonio Franceschini - Noli Me Tangere ("Touch me not") - Google Art Project.jpg, '' Noli me tangere'', circa 1700 File:Marcantonio Franceschini - Büßende Maria Magdalena - GG 225 - Kunsthistorisches Museum.jpg, ''Penitent

Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to crucifixion of Jesus, his cru ...

'', circa 1700–05 File:Marcantonio franceschini, madonna col bambino e cinque santi.jpg, ''Madonna and Child with Five Saints'' File:Marcantonio Franceschini Communion.jpg, ''The Last Communion of

Saint Mary of Egypt Mary of Egypt ( cop, Ϯⲁⲅⲓⲁ Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ Ⲛⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ; ; c. 344 – c. 421) is an Egyptian saint, highly venerated as a Desert Mother in the Eastern Orthodox and Coptic Churches. The Catholic Church commemorates her ...

'', 1680

Notes

References

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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Franceschini, Marcantonio 1648 births 1729 deaths 17th-century Italian painters Italian male painters 18th-century Italian painters Painters from Bologna Italian Baroque painters 18th-century Italian male artists