The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-07.
Francia
(frän´chä) (KEY) , c.1450–1517, Italian painter, goldsmith, and medalist of the early Bolognese school, whose real name was Francesco Raibolini. Until the age of 40 he was famous chiefly as a goldsmith and engraver of nielli and of dies for medals. His paintings reflect the influence of Perugino and Raphael. Among the most noted are Crucifixion (Louvre); Pietà (National Gall., London); and Assumption (Church of San Frediano, Lucca). Others include Head of the Virgin (Pa. Acad. of the Fine Arts); Madonna (Gardner Mus., Boston); a portrait of Federigo Gonzaga (Metropolitan Mus.); and Madonna and Child (National Gall. of Art, Washington, D.C.).
