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| Antonio Fantuzzi after Primaticcio Seated Sibyl ca. 1544-45 etching British Museum |
Francesco Primaticcio (1504-1570) was one of the most prominent Italian artists recruited into France during the 16th century to decorate the reconstructed palace at Fontainebleau, a project to which he devoted most of his life. The Fontainebleau decorations were extensively copied in drawings and prints by other artists. This was especially fortunate because few of Primaticcio's paintings have survived. His famous ceiling frescoes and other vast schemes were deliberately obliterated by additional subsequent waves of construction, destruction, and remodeling.
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| Antonio Fantuzzi after Primaticcio Soldier Ploughing with Oxen (other soldiers rising from the ground) etching ca. 1543-44 British Museum |
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| Hendrik Goltzius after Primaticcio Hercules defending the ship Argos 1577 engraving British Museum |
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| Monogrammist FG after Primaticcio The Wounded Hector 1540s etching British Museum |
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| Monogrammist FG after Primaticcio Alexander with Amazons 1540s engraving British Museum |
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| Monogrammist FG after Primaticcio Penelope Weaving 1540s engraving British Museum |
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| Léon Davent after Primaticcio The Muse Euterpe ca. 1540-45 etching British Museum |
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| Léon Davent after Primaticcio The Muse Erato ca. 1540-45 etching British Museum |
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| Léon Davent after Primaticcio The Goddess Juno ca. 1540-45 etching British Museum |
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| Léon Davent after Primaticcio Two Women with Putto ca. 1545-47 etching British Museum |
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| Léon Davent after Primaticcio Mars ca. 1540-45 etching British Museum |
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| Léon Davent after Primaticcio Bellona ca. 1540-45 etching British Museum |
To close, two rare drawings now in the British Museum from the hand of Primaticcio himself. Because he was remarkably celebrated in his lifetime, and because so little of his original work still exists, even the artist's name now carries its own legendary significance, the actual once-living person transformed into an ageless personification of tragic vulnerability.
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| Francesco Primaticcio Psyche before the Gods 16th century drawing British Museum |
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| Francesco Primaticcio Graces bearing aloft Minerva 1540s drawing British Museum |