FOSCHI, Pierfrancesco di Jacopo

Italian Mannerist painter in Florence from the workshop of Andrea del Sarto. His later orientation was towards Sogliani (composition) and especially Pontormo.

His work reflects the influence of Bronzino and in particular the slightly older Florentine artist, Pontormo. For Foschi, as for the other Mannerists, classicism was a discipline which was governed by strict rules. For that reason his painting, as with that of Bronzino and other Tuscan artists of this circle, suffers from a certain coldness and distance. This concept of classicism as an erudite artistic programme led to the foundation of the Accademia Fiorentina del DisegnoGLOSSARYIn Renaissance art theory, the design of a painting seen in terms of drawing, which was help to be the basis of all art. The term stresses not the literal drawing, but the concept behind an art work. With the Mannerists the term came to mean an ideal image that a work attempts to embody but can in fact never fully realize. As disegno appeals to the intellect, it was considered far more important that coloure (colour), which was seen as appealing to the senses and emotions. in 1563, initiated by Foschi with Vasari, Bronzino, Antonio da Sangallo and others. In encouraging the perpetuation of classicalGLOSSARYRelating to the culture of ancient Greece and Rome (classical Antiquity). The classical world played a profoundly important role in the Renaissance, with Italian scholars, writers, and artists seeing their own period as the rebirth (the "renaissance") of classical values after the Middle Ages. The classical world was considered the golden age for the arts, literature, philosophy, and politics. Concepts of the classical, however, changed greatly from one period to the next. Roman literature provided the starting point in the 14th century, scholars patiently finding, editing and translating a wide range of texts. In the 15th century Greek literature, philosophy and art - together with the close study of the remains of Roman buildings and sculptures-expanded the concept of the classical and ensured it remained a vital source of ideas and inspiration. precepts, however, it brought about a loss of originality.