Battista Franco

Battista Franco was a gifted draftsman, engraver, and painter. He was born in Venice and studied in Rome early in his career. Franco’s primary influence was Michelangelo and he is thought to be the first to copy the frescos in the Sistine Chapel. Franco’s interest extended to classical antiquity and he endeavored to record all of the classical sculptures held in private collections in Rome. His extraordinary draftsmanship earned him commissions with Raffaello da Montelupo on the Ponte Sant’Angelo project, grisaille scenes from Roman history at the Porta San Sebastiano, and he worked with Giorgio Vasari on the decoration of the Palazzo Medici in June 1536. (In fact, much of the primary information on... more.