Maso da San Friano (1536–1571) was an Italian painter active in

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

. His real name was Tomaso D'Antonio Manzuoli. He was born in San Friano and died in Florence.

Life and career

He was born in Florence on 4 November 1531, in the area of Porta San Frediano, from which he derived his nickname. He received his early training in P.F. Foschi's workshop, educated in comparison with the greats of Mannerism, in particular Pontormo According to

Giorgio Vasari Giorgio Vasari (30 July 1511 – 27 June 1574) was an Italian Renaissance painter, architect, art historian, and biographer who is best known for his work ''Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects'', considered the ideol ...

, Maso was a pupil of

Pier Francesco Foschi Pier Francesco Foschi (1502–1567) was an Italian painter active in Florence in a Mannerist style. He was pupil of Andrea del Sarto and assisted Pontormo with his frescoes at Careggi in 1536. He completed 3 altarpieces, commissioned in 1540–1 ...

while others claim it was Carlo Portelli, he was educated with the other important artist of Mannerism, in particular Pontormo He collaborated with an elder

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (6March 147518February 1564), known mononymously as Michelangelo, was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was inspir ...

on some projects. His altarpiece of the ''Visitation'' was painted in 1560 for the church of

San Pier Maggiore, Florence San Pier Maggiore was a church and monastery in Florence, Tuscany, central Italy that existed from the eleventh to the eighteenth century, and hosted ceremonies for the reception of newly appointed Bishops of Florence. History of the building A c ...

- now in Trinity Hall Chapel,

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

, England. A similar work can be seen in the

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 ...

cathedral. After 1561, he painted in the church of

Ognissanti, Florence The chiesa di San Salvatore di Ognissanti, or more simply chiesa di Ognissanti (; "Church of All Saints"), is a Franciscan church located on in central Florence, region of Tuscany, Italy. Founded by the lay order of the Umiliati, the church w ...

and in the church of

Santa Felicita Santa Felicita (Church of St Felicity) is a Roman Catholic church in Florence, region of Tuscany, Italy, probably the oldest in the city after San Lorenzo. In the 2nd century, Syrian Greek merchants settled in the area south of the Arno and are ...

. He is regarded as part of the Counter-''Maniera'' or Counter-Mannerism movement in Florence. His most important pupils were

Jacopo da Empoli 250px, ''Martyrdom of St. Sebastian'', San Lorenzo, Florence Jacopo da Empoli (30 April 1551 – 30 September 1640) was an Italian Florentine Reformist painter. Born in Florence as Jacopo Chimenti (Empoli being the birthplace of his father), ...

and Alessandro Fei. One of his paintings, thought to be of

Cosimo I de Medici Cosimo I de' Medici (12 June 1519 – 21 April 1574) was the second and last duke of Florence from 1537 until 1569, when he became the first grand duke of Tuscany, a title he held until his death. Cosimo I succeeded his cousin to the duchy. ...

in 1560, is believed to be the oldest to show a watch. He died in 1571 and was buried in the Church of the Carmine in Florence on 2 October.

Painter of the
Studiolo of Francesco I The Studiolo is a small painting-encrusted barrel-vaulted room in the Palazzo Vecchio, Florence, Italy. It was commissioned by Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany. It was completed for the duke from 1570 to 1572, by teams of artists unde ...

Between 1570 and 1571, the two visionary panels for the so-called

Studiolo of Francesco I The Studiolo is a small painting-encrusted barrel-vaulted room in the Palazzo Vecchio, Florence, Italy. It was commissioned by Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany. It was completed for the duke from 1570 to 1572, by teams of artists unde ...

in the

Palazzo Vecchio The ( "Old Palace") is the town hall of Florence, Italy. It overlooks the , which holds a copy of Michelangelo's ''David'' statue, and the gallery of statues in the adjacent Loggia dei Lanzi. Originally called the ''Palazzo della Signoria'', a ...

, the painter's true artistic testament, were completed. Coordinated by

, the collective undertaking of decoration saw Maso engaged on the western wall, dedicated to the element of air. Between mythological erudition, hermetic symbolism and perhaps also magical-alchemical allusions, he faithfully adhered to the programme in the upper register panel. The primary source of reference for the Diamond Mine was Pliny's discussion of crystal. Derived from the solidification of atmospheric moisture cooled by the winds, it was often juxtaposed with the precious materials painted by Maso, as naked men collect them against the backdrop of a rugged, shimmering mountain, climbed with ropes and baskets by other prospectors. The bizarre posture of the figures, with one hand tied behind their backs, seems to evoke the chains of Prometheus, celebrated in the ceiling of the studiolo and recalled in Natural History precisely with regard to man's passion for gems. The crowded and colourful scene in the foreground, where one of the nudes offers stones to exotically clad characters, calls to mind literature on the Indies, in particular Garcia da Orta, from which the motif takes its inspiration. The oriental composition seems to have been elaborated by Maso on the basis of his own drawing (Rennes, Musée des beaux-arts), itself inspired by an engraving by Luke of Leiden, in circulation in Florence since the beginning of the century. In the case of the oval of the Fall of Icarus in the lower band, intended to decorate one of the doors of the cupboards in which Francesco's collection of rarities was kept, the choice of the motif is part of a complex system of correspondences between the iconographic programme and the objects kept in the studiolo. Rather than alluding to feather artefacts, the Ovidian subject, in itself pertinent to the theme of air, still refers to Plinian theory on crystal, evoking the presence of refined artefacts produced by the Medici craftsmen . Maso's painting of facetted planes and precious colours confirms his decisive Pontormesque ancestry, to which the characterised counterpoint of the characters and their articulate gestures refer, especially in the Diamond Mine. A talent for small-format figures and refined execution make Maso's panels one of the most fantastic and whimsical creations of the last season of the Florentine manner.

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:San Friano, Maso da 1536 births 1571 deaths People from the Metropolitan City of Florence 16th-century Italian painters Italian male painters Painters from Florence Italian Mannerist painters

Life and career

Painter of the Studiolo of Francesco I The Studiolo is a small painting-encrusted barrel-vaulted room in the Palazzo Vecchio, Florence, Italy. It was commissioned by Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany. It was completed for the duke from 1570 to 1572, by teams of artists unde ...

References

Sources

Painter of the
Studiolo of Francesco I The Studiolo is a small painting-encrusted barrel-vaulted room in the Palazzo Vecchio, Florence, Italy. It was commissioned by Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany. It was completed for the duke from 1570 to 1572, by teams of artists unde ...