Francesco Primaticcio (1504 - 1570) was an Italian painter, architect and sculptor who spent most of his career in France.

Born in Bologna, he trained under Giulio Romano in Mantua, before securing a position in the court of Francis I of France in 1532.

Together with Rosso Fiorentino he was one of the leading artists to work at the Chateau Fontainebleau, spending much of his life there. Following Rosso's death in 1540, Primaticcio took control of the artistic direction at Fontainebleau.

Primaticcio turned to architecture towards the end of his life, his greatest work being the Valois Chapel at the Abbey of Saint-Denis, although this was not completed until after his death and was destroyed in 1719.

References

The Oxford Dictionary of Art, ISBN 0192800221

External links

Entry in 'Art-cyclopedia'