Francesco primaticcio biography

Greek Statues

Primaticcio returned to Rome for a couple of years after this, to purchase artworks for the King.

He bought a considerable number of classical sculptures and statues, which were re-cast and placed in the gardens of Fontainebleau, setting a trend for Greek art throughout France.

Francesco primaticcio biography

He went on to decorate other parts of the palace, including the Cabinet du Roi with a series of paintings, now lost. He depicted his figures in paintings with exaggerated, elongated figures, and this style would influence French painting for the remainder of the 16th century.

In 1543, Primaticcio worked on the bedchamber of the duchesse d'Etampes (the King's mistress), painting scenes from the Life of Alexander the Great (these works survive today). The mythological scenes are decorated with highly carved reliefs of lithe, slender adolescent female figures.

The elongated and voluptuous bodies are surrounded by garlands. During this period h