Battista Franco Veneziano also known by his correct name of Giovanni Battista Franco (before 1510 – 1561) was an Italian

Mannerist Mannerism, which may also be known as Late Renaissance, is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Ita ...

painter and

printmaker Printmaking is the process of creating work of art, artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand proce ...

etching Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal. In modern manufacturing, other chemicals may be used on other types ...

active in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Urbino Urbino ( ; ; Romagnol: ''Urbìn'') is a walled city in the Marche region of Italy, south-west of Pesaro, a World Heritage Site notable for a remarkable historical legacy of independent Renaissance culture, especially under the patronage of F ...

, and

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

in the mid 16th century. He is also known as ''il Semolei'' or just ''Battista Franco''. Native to

, he came to Rome in his twenties. He painted an allegory of the ''Battle of Montemurlo'' now in the Pitti Palace (1537), and a fresco of the ''Arrest of John the Baptist'' for the Oratory of San Giovanni Decollato (1541). From 1545–51 he painted in

. He may have been, along with

Girolamo Genga Girolamo Genga (c. 1476 – 11 July 1551) was an Italian painter and architect of the late Renaissance, Mannerist style. Life and career Genga was born in a region near Urbino. According mainly to Giorgio Vasari's biography, by age thirteen ...

, one of the mentors of

Federico Barocci Federico Barocci (also written ''Barozzi'')(c. 1535 in Urbino – 1612 in Urbino) was an Italian Renaissance painter and printmaker. His original name was Federico Fiori, and he was nicknamed Il Baroccio. His work was highly esteemed and inf ...

. His painting, in the Mannerist style, was heavily indebted to

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was ins ...

; but his drawings and

s have far more verve and originality. He returned to

, where he helped fresco the ceiling of the

Biblioteca Marciana The Marciana Library or Library of Saint Mark ( it, italic=no, Biblioteca Marciana, but in historical documents commonly referred to as ) is a public library in Venice, Italy. It is one of the earliest surviving public libraries and repositori ...

(library). He painted a series of panels, including a ''Baptism of Christ'' ( Barbaro chapel), for the walls and vault of the Grimani chapel in the church San Francesco della Vigna in Venice. He painted the ''Raising of Lazarus'' in the Ducal palace. He is the father of etcher and publisher Giacomo Franco. San Giovanni Battista battezza Cristo nel Giordano - di Battista Franco 1555.jpg, ''Baptism of Christ'' San Francesco della Vigna Le Virtù Angeliche e le Virtù Umane di F. Battista detto il Semolei.jpg, Vault of Grimani chapel San Francesco della Vigna

External links

*
Artnet biography on painter.
* * Massimo Firpo, Fabrizio Biferali,
'Battista Franco «pittore viniziano» nella cultura artistica e nella vita religiosa del '500''
Pisa, Edizioni della Scuola Normale Superiore, 2007 {{DEFAULTSORT:Franco, (Giovanni) Battista 1561 deaths Artists from Venice 16th-century Italian painters Italian male painters Italian etchers Italian Renaissance painters Year of birth unknown Fresco painters