Pier Francesco di Jacopo Foschi

Pier Francesco di Jacopo Foschi was an Italian Mannerist painter, active in Florence. He was the son of Pierfrancesco di Jacopo Sandro Foschi, known for his Madonna and Child with the Infant Saint John. (Utah Museum of Fine Arts) He is said to have trained with the influential Florentine Mannerist, Andrea Del Sarto (1486 – 1530), from whom Foschi was in turn influenced by Jacopo Pontormo (1494 – 1557) and Il Bronzino (1503 – 1572).

Foschi is best noted for his portraits painted between 1530 and 1540, including his Portrait of a Lady (Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid), Portrait of a Young Man Weaving a Wreath of Flowers (Utah Museum of Fine Arts), and his Portrait of a Man, (Uffizi Gallery, Florence).

In his portraits he adhered to Mannerist style, utilizing a slight Contrapposto in the sitter with their head turned from the body. This pose gave the depiction a spontaneity and sense of movement for the innovative Mannerists, but was eventually so formulaic that it lost its intention of originality. Foschi’ Portrait of a Lady and Portrait of a Man Weaving a Wreath of Flowers, shows an interesting use of back ground and subtle symbolisms to convey the essence of the sitter, while his Portrait of a Man (at the Uffizi), shows a more standard portrait depiction of the period.