Francisco de Holanda

Francisco de Holanda (originally Francisco d'Olanda), (born: Lisbon, c. 1517; died: Lisbon, 1585) was a Portuguese humanist and painter. Considered to be one of the most important figures of the Portuguese Renaissance, he was also an essayist, architect, and historian. He was a maternal nephew of Pope Adrian VI and a remote uncle of Deodoro da Fonseca, Sérgio Buarque de Holanda and his namesake Chico Buarque.

Francisco de Holanda began his career as an illuminator, following in the footsteps of his father, António d'Holanda, royal illuminator. He studied in Italy between 1538 and 1547, during which he frequented the circle of Vittoria Colonna, one of the notables of the Italian Renaissance who provided him with access to some of the great artists of his period, such as Parmigianino, Giambologna, and, most importantly, Michelangelo who introduced him to classicism.

Returning to Portugal, he obtained various commissions from the Cardinal-Archbishop of Évora, and of the Portuguese kings, John III (1521-1557) and Sebastian (1568-1578).

The esthetic values of the Renaissance were strongly expressed by Francisco, who stated that the principle objective of the painter was to stimulate personal originality and to follow the link to nature (the pure mirror of the Creator) and the link to the ancients -- immortal masters of greatness, symmetry, perfection and decorum. Much of this was presented in his three-part treatise on the nature of art, "On Ancient Painting" ("Da Pintura Antiga", 1548), especially in the second part which contains 4 dialogues, supposedly with Michelangelo. [Ronald W. Sousa, "The View of the Artist in Francisco de Holanda's "Dialogues","Luso-Brazilian Review" 15 (1978), p. 44.] Here his passion for classicism is brought to the forefront, as he communicates the essence of the work of Michaelangelo and of the contemporary artistic movement in Rome.

Possessing a versatile intellect, Francisco de Holanda distinguished himself through his series of drawings, "Drawings of the Antiquities [of Italy] " (1540-1547), through his studies on the revival of the archaeological heritage of Rome and on Italian art in the first half of the 16th century.

Francisco was the creator of the facade of the Church of Our Lady of Grace (Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Graça) in Évora. He also painted a number of portraits, not all of which survive. [Annemarie Jordan, "Retrato de Corte em Portugal. O Legado de António Moro (1552-1572)" (Lisbon: Quetzal Editiores, 1994), p. 50.]

Francisco wrote the first analysis of urbanization in the Iberian Penninsular — on the fortifications of the city of Lisbon" ("Da fábrica que falece à cidade de Lisboa") — and created other books of drawings such as "De aetatibus mundi imagines", and "Antigualhas".

Writings

Francisco de Holanda was the author of:
* "De aetatibus mundi imagines" (1543-1573)
* "Da pintura antiga" (Lisbon, 1548):* Part II: "Diálogos de Roma"
* "Do tirar polo natural" (1549)
* "Da fábrica que falece à cidade de Lisboa" (Lisbon, 1571)
* "De quanto serve a ciência do desenho e entendimento da arte da pintura, na república christâ assim na paz como na guerra" (Lisbon, 1571).

Notes

Bibliography

* Alves, José da Felicidade, "Introdução ao estudo da obra de Francisco de Holanda" (Lisbon, 1986)
* Deswarte, Sylvie,"As Imagens das Idades do Mundo de Francisco de Holanda" (Lisbon, 1987)
* Santos, Mariana Amélia Machado,"'Á Estética de Francisco de Holanda", I Congresso do Mundo Português (Lisbon, 1940)
* Segurado, Jorge, "Francisco d'Ollanda" (Lisbon, 1970)
* Sousa, Ronald W., "The View of the Artist in Francisco de Holanda's "Dialogues": A Clash of Feudal Models," "Luso-Brazilian Review" 15 (1978), 43-58.
* Vilela, José Stichini, "Francisco de Holanda, Vida, Pensamento e Obra" (Lisbon, 1982)
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