Franco, Battista

Franco, Battista (called il Semelei), an eminent painter and engraver, was born at Venice in 1498. He went to Rome and studied the works of Michael Angelo. He painted in fresco the choir of the Metropolitan Church at Urbino; and a picture in oil representing the Virgin and Infant, between St. Peter and St. Paul. There are several easel pictures from the life of Christ in the cathedral at Osimo. The following are some of his works; Moses Striking the Rock; Abraham Meeting Melchisedec; Abraham about to Sacrifice Isaac; The Israelites Gathering Manna in the Desert; St. Jerome Holding Skull; The Virgin and Infant with St. John; St. John the Baptist; The Adoration of the Shepherds, with Angels in the Clouds. He died in 1561. See Hoefer, Nouv. Biog. Generale, s.v.; Spooner, Biog. Hist. of the Fine Arts, s.v.