{"id":988,"date":"2011-06-09T12:34:32","date_gmt":"2011-06-09T16:34:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.vassar.edu\/rosso2\/"},"modified":"2013-06-04T16:25:27","modified_gmt":"2013-06-04T20:25:27","slug":"vii-south-the-enlightenment-of-francis-i","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/rosso\/catalogues\/paintings\/p-22\/vii-south-the-enlightenment-of-francis-i\/","title":{"rendered":"P.22 VII South: Enlightenment of Francis I"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

P.22 VII South: The Enlightenment of Francis I<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/strong>The central fresco: c. 1.67 x c. 2.55 m.<\/p>\n

Fig.P.22, VII S a<\/a> whole wall
\nFig.P.22, VII S b<\/a> left
\nFig.P.22, VII S c<\/a> right<\/p>\n

The major alteration to this wall has been caused by the raising of the crossbeams and the addition of two urns which the large stucco satyrs are now holding with their upraised arms and supporting on their cushioned heads. \u00a0Originally the satyrs grasped the crossbeams that rested on the cushions. \u00a0Baskets are substituted for the beams in Fantuzzi\u2019s etching of the frame of this wall (E.75<\/a>; see below) but they are clearly beams in Du Cerceau\u2019s print (E.55.3<\/a>; see below).1<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 The vines covering the genitals of the satyrs that are not found in Fantuzzi\u2019s etching (see below) would seem to be later additions. \u00a0Below the central fresco the figure of Venus is missing from the stucco relief.<\/p>\n

PREPARATORY DRAWING: D.61A, B, C<\/a> (COPIES). \u00a0Darmstadt, Hessiches Landesmuseum, no. AE 1424 (Fig.D.61A<\/a>); formerly New York, Janos Scholz Collection (Fig.D.61B<\/a>); Rennes, Mus\u00e9e, no. 56\/11 (Fig.D.61C<\/a>), The Enlightenment of Francis I<\/em>. \u00a0These three pen and ink and wash drawings are derived from a lost drawing by Rosso for the central fresco of this wall. \u00a0They show that the only two details missing from the drawing that appear in the final scene are the sandals worn by Caesar and the clothing of the woman with raised arms at the far right. \u00a0One detail was eliminated from the fresco: the small head of the bearded man between two of the columns of the temple. \u00a0Two of the drawings show OSTIVM IOVIS<\/em> inscribed over the door as well as the words [B]ONI<\/em> and MALI<\/em> on the large urns flanking the doorway. \u00a0The fresco shows only the inscription over the door.<\/p>\n

PRINTS: E.74. \u00a0Fantuzzi, The Enlightenment of Francis I<\/em> (E.74<\/a>). \u00a0This etching is in reverse of the fresco but is not copied from it. \u00a0The costume of Caesar, including his boots, is slightly different from what appears in the copies of Rosso\u2019s lost drawing (see above, D.61A, B, C) but otherwise the print is virtually identical to them. \u00a0It is probable that the minor changes of Caesar\u2019s costume are due to Fantuzzi.<\/p>\n

E.12. \u00a0Boyvin, The Enlightenment of Francis I<\/em> (E.12<\/a>). \u00a0This engraving, in reverse of the fresco, is based upon Rosso\u2019s lost drawing (see above; D.61A, B, C<\/a>) and reproduces clearly, as Fantuzzi\u2019s etching does not, the light streaming from the door of the temple. \u00a0Boyvin has, however, removed the \u201cF\u201d encircled with a crown from the oval above the door and has placed there the inscription OSTIV IOVIS<\/em> which in the copies of Rosso\u2019s drawing is on the lintel of the door.<\/p>\n

There is a reversed copy of this print by Domenico Zenoi (E.112).<\/p>\n

E.148. \u00a0Anonymous, The Birth of Venus<\/em> (E.148<\/a>). \u00a0Related, in reverse, to the stucco relief under the center painting of this wall, this etching must be dependent, however, upon a more detailed but lost drawing by Rosso. \u00a0Stylistically, the details of the print are clearly Rosso\u2019s inventions and are not attributable to the etcher. \u00a0But he did add the water and clouds around the outside of the shell and the two personifications of winds in the upper corners which lie beyond the limits of the composition of the stucco relief.<\/p>\n

E.75. \u00a0Fantuzzi, Frame<\/em> (E.75<\/a>). \u00a0With many variations this etching is related, in reverse, to the frame of this wall, the center fresco of which is replaced by a landscape. \u00a0The large satyrs are shown with baskets upon the pillows on their heads, baskets that replace the beams they supported in the gallery until the ceiling was raised in the nineteenth century. \u00a0There are no vines covering the satyrs\u2019 loins. \u00a0The decoration of the plaster strips would seem to be due to Fantuzzi. But the four nude figures above not found in the gallery may not be Fantuzzi\u2019s inventions. \u00a0Another etching (E.147; see below) shows that Rosso had designed at least one figure that was not used for one of the areas occupied by the four nudes, and those Fantuzzi shows could represent other variations by Rosso. \u00a0So, too, could the postures of the satyrs\u2019 children. \u00a0There is, therefore, some possibility that Fantuzzi knew an early lost drawing by Rosso for the frame of this wall.<\/p>\n

One of Du Cerceau\u2019s Petits Cartouches (E.57,8<\/a>) is derived from Fantuzzi\u2019s etching.<\/p>\n

E.55,3. \u00a0Du Cerceau, Frame<\/em> (E.55,3<\/a>). \u00a0This etching is in reverse of the frame in the gallery and has a blank center area. \u00a0It shows the satyrs supporting beams on their heads. \u00a0The positions of the satyrs and their children are as in Fantuzzi\u2019s etching. \u00a0But Du Cerceau\u2019s print is not copied from the latter for it shows several details that appear in the gallery that are not in Fantuzzi\u2019s print: the salamander in his pedimented abode, a turkey, and the stucco shell motif under the central picture without the relief. \u00a0However, Du Cerceau\u2019s print is not copied from the wall in the gallery. \u00a0The figures alongside the satyrs are different; two resemble those in Fantuzzi\u2019s print. \u00a0It is possible that Du Cerceau\u2019s print goes back to the same drawing as Fantuzzi\u2019s etching and that both freely but differently vary it.<\/p>\n

E.147. \u00a0Anonymous, Draped Youth leaning on a Block at the Left<\/em> (E.147<\/a>). \u00a0This etching shows a figure in exactly the same location as the four figures painted alongside the stucco satyrs of this wall. \u00a0As the print is inscribed to Rosso it seems very likely that it is based upon a lost drawing for a figure that was planned for this wall and then not used. \u00a0The figure is not, however, related to one in the gallery or to any in the etchings by Fantuzzi and Du Cerceau (see above).<\/p>\n

ENAMEL: Paris, Louvre, N 1254. \u00a0L\u00e9onard Limosin, Two grisaille plaques with satyrs framing the portrait of Anne de Montmorency, Conn\u00e9table de France <\/em>(Fig.Montmorency<\/a>). \u00a0LITERATURE: Laborde, Emaux<\/em>, 1852, 180, nos. 246 and 247. \u00a0Lasteyrie, 1879, Part II, 93, 103. \u00a0Herbet, V, 1902, 80 (1989, 232), as based upon Fantuzzi\u2019s etching, Herbet, 1 (E.75<\/a>). \u00a0Lavedan, 1918, 103-104, Fig. \u00a0Kusenberg, 1931, 119, 209, n. 324, as Louvre, no. 543. \u00a0B\u00e9guin, 1960, 44. \u00a0B\u00e9guin and Pressouyre, 1972, 140. \u00a0B. Jestaz, in EdF<\/em>, 1972, 446, no. 636, with other bibliography, as derived from Fantuzzi\u2019s print. \u00a0Seward, 1973, 190, Fig. in reverse. \u00a0Baratte, 1993, 53, Color Pl. 23, 54, 55, 80, Cat. 9, as derived from Fantuzzi\u2019s etching.<\/p>\n

These two plaques, the one at the left showing a male satyr, the one at the right, a female, both with two satyr children at their feet belong to the frame of Montmorency\u2019s portrait, another plaque of which is signed L.L. and dated 1556. \u00a0The satyrs are related to those flanking the Enlightenment of Francis I<\/em> and are in the same direction. \u00a0But the enamel figures hold urns on their heads rather than the beams as originally they did in the gallery. \u00a0Herbet believed those by Limosin were based on Fantuzzi\u2019s etching (E.75<\/a>) but the details show that this is not the case. \u00a0Furthermore, the etching is in reverse. \u00a0Nor is it based on Du Cerceau\u2019s print (E.55,3<\/a>). \u00a0The drawing and modelling of the enamel figures, and especially the pointed shaping of the infants\u2019 heads, suggest that Limosin may have used lost drawings by Rosso as his models.<\/p>\n

COPY, DRAWING: Paris, Jean-Jacques Lebel Collection, The Enlightenment of Francis I<\/em>. \u00a0A sixteenth century copy of Boyvin\u2019s engraving (see under E.12).<\/p>\n

COPY, DRAWING, COUNTERPROOF: B\u00e9guin, 1994, 270-272, Pl. 35c (see under IV North, The North Cabinet; Fig.Van Thulden<\/a>) published a counterproof of a drawing that shows in reverse the frescoed figure at the far upper left of this compartment.<\/p>\n

\n

<\/a>1<\/sup> See also Lossky, 1974, 48, 49, Figs. 10, 11.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The central fresco: c. 1.67 x c. 2.55 m. Fig.P.22, VII S a whole wall Fig.P.22, VII S b left Fig.P.22, VII S c right The major alteration to this wall has been caused by the raising of the crossbeams and the addition of two urns which the large stucco satyrs are now holding with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"parent":908,"menu_order":21,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-988","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/rosso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/988","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/rosso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/rosso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/rosso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/rosso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=988"}],"version-history":[{"count":22,"href":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/rosso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/988\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9318,"href":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/rosso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/988\/revisions\/9318"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/rosso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/908"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/rosso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=988"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}