The Enlightenment of François I (The Conquest of Ignorance)

Engraving, 1560 circa, signed lower right: 'Dominicus Zenoi Venetus/excidebat' and inscribed in the margin in eight lines: 'Qualunque ardisce temerarlo [...] fra mille squadra' After Rosso Fiorentino.

A great example, printed on contemporary laid paper, irregularly trimmed at margins, affecting the image on left and right edegs, otherwise in good condition.

Derives from Rosso Fiorentino's fresco (c. 1535 -1536) in the Galerie Francois I at Fontainebleau.
Two earlier prints record this composition, one by Antonio Fantuzzi (Zerner AF.24, see Washington 1987, no. 92), the other by René Boyvin (Robert-Dumesnil VIII.24.16), both in reverse of the painting and this print.

Rosso's lost drawing for the fresco is known from three copies (Hessisches Landesmuseum, Darmstadt, inv. no. AE 1424; formerly Janos Scholz Collection, New York; Rennes Museum, inv. no. 56/1).Bruce Davis agreed with Robert-Dumesnil in supposing that Zenoi based his version on Boyvin's print rather than on the fresco itself.

For the iconography of the print, we report the description by B. Barryte related to the same subject engraved by Réne Boyvin (Myth, Allegory, and Faith, n. 6): “The Enlightenment of François I” copies a lost drawing by Rosso Fiorentino and is in reverse of one of the most significant frescoes in the Galerie François I at Fontainebleau (1534-37) The whole scene is set on a bank of clouds on which blindfolded, distraught, and crippled figures crowd the foreground. In the center, a young man holds the hand of a portly fellow with a cane and guides him forward, his own right hand outstretched as though testing for obstacles. Behind them other blindfolded figures fumble about, face all directions pointlessly, and gesture beseechingly In their interpretation of the image, Dora and win Panofsky describe the group as a cavalcade of "vices born of Ignorance," identifying the fat man as Ignorance, the crouching figure on the left as Despair, and Lust on the right caressing he nude figure of Luxury. The heavy, muscular bodies and contorted poses reveal Rosso's fascination with Michelangelo's art if not direct copies, the cluster of personifications pays homage to Michelangelo's “Battle of Cascina”, with the seated figure on the left and the figure facing the viewer on the lower right being directly related to soldiers in Michelangelo's composition. As in many mannerist works, the focus of the image is situated in the background, where a barefoot armored figure - identified by Giorgio Vasari as King François I - strides boldly past gigantic urns inscribed with "Goods and "Evils" to enter the light-filled doorway of the Temple of Jupiter, ruler of the Olympian gods. Crowned with laurel, the solitary hero holds a sword and a book, signifying devotion to both learning and war. Within the context of the king's château, the image clearly suggests an alignment between the king and Jupiter, but its specif ic meaning continues to baffle scholars. Such complex imagery is a hallmark of the School of Fontainebleau and an expres- sion of Rosso's particular genius, justifying Vasari's praise: "He showed such rich invention that he never had any superfluous spaces in his pictures, and he did everything with marvelous facility and grace."

Bibliografia

Robert-Dumesnil VIII.24.16; Le Blanc IV.262.17; Herbet, Les graveurs de l’Ecole de Fontainebleau…, vol. III, p. 123, under R-D 16; Rosso Fiorentino: Drawings…, under no. 91, note 2; Davis, Mannerist Prints…, no. 100.