Alessandro Franchi (15 March 1838 – 29 April 1914) was an Italian painter. He worked in a combination of Romantic and

Neo-gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century ...

styles, influenced by

Purismo ''Purismo'' was an Italian cultural movement which began in the 1820s. The group intended to restore and preserve language through the study of medieval authors, and such study extended to the visual arts. Inspired by the Nazarenes from Germany, ...

Biography

He was born in

Prato Prato ( ; ) is a city and municipality (''comune'') in Tuscany, Italy, and is the capital of the province of Prato. The city lies in the northeast of Tuscany, at an elevation of , at the foot of Monte Retaia (the last peak in the Calvana ch ...

. While still very young, he demonstrated his artistic abilities by copying religious works and making sketches of people in ceremonial costumes worn during processions. His drawing master asked him to reproduce an image of Saint Anthony made by

Fra Filippo Lippi Filippo Lippi ( – 8 October 1469), also known as Lippo Lippi, was an Italian Renaissance painter of the Quattrocento (fifteenth century) and a Carmelite priest. He was an early Renaissance master of a painting workshop, who taught many paint ...

in 1498. On the basis of this, he was able to obtain a scholarship.Brief biography
@ the Comune di Prato website. His formal studies began at a local school in Prato, operated by Alessandro Ferrarini (1815–1904). He then became a pupil of

Luigi Mussini Luigi Mussini (19 December 1813 – 18 June 1888) was an Italian painter, linked especially to the Purismo movement and to the Nazarenes. Life Mussini was born in Berlin, son of the composer Natale Mussini, ''Kapellmeister'' at the Prussi ...

at the "Accademia Senese di Belle Arti", where he would later be a teacher and, in 1888, be promoted to a professorship, replacing Mussini. In 1893, after being a widower for ten years, he married Mussini's daughter, Luisa (1865–1925), who was a sculptor, and she became his assistant.Biography and appreciation
by Rossella Agresti @

Treccani Institute Giovanni Treccani for the publication of the Italian Encyclopedia (), also known as Treccani Institute or simply Treccani, is a cultural institution of national interest, active in the publishing field, founded by Giovanni Treccani ...

. His first major commission was for , a writer and scholar who became

Archbishop of Siena In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdioc ...

in 1871. He painted his first large-scale

fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...

at the Villa Guasti (belonging to the writer , a major patron) in 1864. He was active throughout the provinces of

Siena Siena ( , ; traditionally spelled Sienna in English; ) is a city in Tuscany, in central Italy, and the capital of the province of Siena. It is the twelfth most populated city in the region by number of inhabitants, with a population of 52,991 ...

and

Liguria Liguria (; ; , ) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is roughly coextensive with ...

. Most of his works are on religious themes. Notably at

Siena Cathedral Siena Cathedral () is a medieval church in Siena, Italy, dedicated from its earliest days as a Roman Catholic Marian church, and now dedicated to the Assumption of Mary. Since the early 13th-century the Siena Cathedral has been an important pa ...

, where he created marble inlay paving stones for the floor of the cathedral, to replace damaged ones that had originally been made by

Domenico Beccafumi Domenico di Pace Beccafumi (1486May 18, 1551) was an Italian Renaissance-Mannerist painter active predominantly in Siena. He is considered one of the last undiluted representatives of the Sienese school of painting. Biography Domenico was born ...

. These stones were part of a project that had begun in the 14th century. It was completed by the end of the 16th century, but restoration and replacement work continued long after. His depiction of the death of

Ahab Ahab (; ; ; ; ) was a king of the Kingdom of Israel (Samaria), the son and successor of King Omri, and the husband of Jezebel of Sidon, according to the Hebrew Bible. He is depicted in the Bible as a Baal worshipper and is criticized for causi ...

was one of the last stones laid, in 1878. The floor is now kept covered and shown only once a year, generally for a few weeks in September. In addition to his paintings and restoration work, he wrote articles on art for various French and Italian magazines. He was also an active member of the provincial committee devoted to the preservation of monuments and paintings. Franchi died in Siena on 29 April 1914. He was buried in a tomb that was designed by his wife, Luisa, and contains several of his works. A room in the Palazzo Pretorio was dedicated to his memory and contains works he donated to the city in 1911.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Franchi, Alessandro 1838 births 1914 deaths 19th-century Italian painters 20th-century Italian painters Artists from the Grand Duchy of Tuscany Italian male painters Catholic painters People from Prato Fresco painters 19th-century Italian male artists

Biography

References

Further reading

External links