Preface

The documents presented here are those that cannot be connected to specific works by Rosso, although some are clearly related to his artistic activity and others may be. One document, an inventory of 1532 of Rosso’s possessions left in Arezzo in September of 1529, lists a number of works of art. A large picture and its frame for Francis I are mentioned in a payment record of 1531-1532; a frame for Michelangelo’s Leda appears in a letter of 1532 from Antonio Mini to Michelangelo; and another payment record of 1531 refers to a model for a tomb. These works are discussed in separate entries of the catalogue of Lost Works. Between 5 July 1534 and 26 September 1537 there are no documents unrelated to specific works of art. This is the period in which Rosso was most directly active on the execution of the decorations of the Gallery of Francis I, the extensive number of documents for which are given in P.22. The biographical documents are of a variety of kinds. One records his baptism, and a large number are concerned with his death and legacy. There is the record of his matriculation into the Arte dei Medici e Speziali. His reception as a canon of Notre Dame in Paris in 1537 is extensively documented, although his reception in 1532 as a canon at Sainte Chapelle is unfortunately not. A number of documents concern litigation over debts of the artist. Others record the large sums of money that he received in France, some of which are related to those of his death and legacy. Mini’s several letters to Michelangelo give evidence of Rosso’s luxurious life soon after his arrival in Paris. The record of letters patents from Francis I of 1532 gives an account of his privileged status in France. Rosso’s letter of 1526 to Michelangelo speaks of his affection for the famous artist, but also of the slander that accused Rosso of speaking ill of him in Rome. Injury by slander also appears as a possibility in a record of 23 February 1529 concerning the appointment of a procurator in Arezzo. These records, presented here chronologically, should be understood in relation to those that document his works and that are transcribed in the catalogue entries for them. These documents, too, contain some information that pertains to his personal behavior.