Francesco Del Brina (florence, 1529 - 1586), Nativity

Francesco Del Brina (Florence, 1529 - 1586)

Nativity

Oil on panel, cm 70 x 47.5

With frame, cm 80 x 58

Critical sheet Prof. Alessandro Delpriori

Born into a family of artists - his brother Giovanni, with whom he often worked together, was a prominent figure in the pictorial panorama of Florence of the second half of the sixteenth century - Francesco Del Brina (known alternately as Brina or Brini) He was trained at the workshop of Ridolfo del Ghirlandaio, one of the most vibrant cultural environments in 16th century Tuscany. According to the American scholar Freedberg, one of the personalities closest to Ghirlandaio is Michele Tosini, also called Michele di Ridolfo (Florence, 1503 -1577), from which he learns the pictorial dictates of the Vasarian doctrine, which he follows to the letter throughout his entire production. The same Vasari, to which the Brina is deliberately inspired, makes a quick reference, unchanged between the edition Torrentiniana and that Giuntina delle Vite, to the artist’s activity, which is presented in appendix to the life of Grardo miniatore as "young painter florentine" who collaborates with Gherardo del Fora in the realization of the fresco of the external facade of the church of Sant'Egidio in Florence. Among the most important projects concerning the first phase of Francis' career is certainly that related to the design of the preparations for the triumphal entry into the city of Francis de' Medici following his marriage with Joan of Austria: there are numerous preparatory sketches for these ephemeral architectures - many of which were exhibited at the acclaimed Exhibition of Vasari drawings in Palazzo Pitti in 1966 - showing the great technical expertise of Brina not only as a painter but also as a draughtsman.