Rosso Fiorentino

Background

Rosso Fiorentino was born on March 8, 1494 in Florence, Italy.

Education

Rosso received his early training in the studio of Andrea del Sarto, alongside his contemporary Jacopo da Pontormo.

Career

During the period from 1513 to 1514, Rosso painted the fresco Assumption in the Annunziata, Florence. In 1518 he was commissioned to paint an altarpiece, Virgin and Child Enthroned with Four Saints, for a Florentine church. When his patrons saw what they perceived as harsh, devilish depictions of the saints in the picture, they rejected it. After this incident, Rosso left Florence for Volterra, and there he painted Deposition. In 1521 or 1522 he returned to Florence, where he probably painted the dramatic Moses Defending the Daughters of Jethro.

At the end of 1523 Rosso moved to Rome, where his exposure to Michelangelo’s Sistine ceiling, the late art of Raphael, and the work of Parmigianino resulted in a radical realignment of his style.

In 1527 Fiorentino left Rome for France, where he secured a position at the court of Francis I in 1530, remaining there until his death. At court Rosso was responsible for all manner of artistic design, from costumes and scenery to architectural drawings and tableware.

Achievements

• "Descent from the Cross" altarpiece is the most famous work of Rosso.
  
  He was also one of the founders of the Fontainebleau school.

Works

More photos

• painting

  • Dead Christ with Angels

  • A Young Man

  • Deposition

  • Death of Cleopatra

  • Madonna and Child with Putti

  • Allegoria macabra

  • Playing putto (Musician Angel)

  • Assumption of the Virgin

  • The Holy Family

  • Madonna Enthroned and Ten Saints

  • Deposition from the Cross (detail)

  • The Challenge of the Pierides

  • Moses Defending the Daughters of Jethro

  • The Holy Family with the Infant Saint John the Baptist

  • San Giovannino

  • Risen Christ

  • Marriage of the Virgin

  • Pietà

References

• Rosso in Italy: The Italian Career of Rosso Fiorentino
  1994
• Rosso Fiorentino: Drawings, prints, and decorative arts
  1987
• Pontormo and Rosso Fiorentino: Diverging Paths of Mannerism
  2014