Online Encyclopedia

Search over 40,000 articles from the original, classic Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th Edition.

FRANCESCHINI, BALDASSARE (1611-1689)

Online Encyclopedia
Originally appearing in Volume V10, Page 932 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
» Make a correction to this article.
» Add information or comments to this article.
Spread the word: del.icio.us del.icio.us it!

See also:

FRANCESCHINI, BALDASSARE (1611-1689) , See also:Italian painter of the Tuscan school, named, from See also:Volterra the See also:place of his See also:birth, II Volterrano, or (to distinguish him from See also:Ricciarelli) Il Volterrano Giuniore, was the son of a sculptor in See also:alabaster. At a very See also:early See also:age he learned fromCosimo Daddi some of the elements of See also:art, and he started as an assistant to his See also:father. This employment being evidently below the level of his talents, the marquises Jnghirami placed him, at the age of sixteen, under the. Florentine painter Matted See also:Rosselli. In the ensuing See also:year he had advanced sufficiently to execute in Volterra some frescoes, skilful in foreshortening, followed by other frescoes for the See also:Medici See also:family in the See also:Valle della Petraia. In 1652 the marchese Filippo Niccolini, being minded to employ Franceschini upon the frescoes for the See also:cupola and back-See also:wall of his See also:chapel in-S. Croce, See also:Florence, despatched him to various parts of See also:Italy to perfect his See also:style. The painter, in a tour which lasted some months, took more especially to the qualities :distinctive of the See also:schools of See also:Parma and See also:Bologna, and in a measure to those of Pietro da See also:Cortona, whose acquaintance he made in See also:Rome. He then undertook the paintings commissioned by Niccolini, which constitute his most noted performance, the See also:design being See also:good, and the method masterly. Franceschini ranks higher in See also:fresco than in oil See also:painting. His See also:works in the latter mode were not unfrequently See also:left unfinished, although numerous specimens remain, the See also:cabinet pictures being marked by much sprightliness of invention. Among his best oil paintings of large See also:scale is the " St See also:John the Evangelist " in the See also:church of S.

Chiara at Volterra. One of his latest works was the fresco of the cupola of the Annunziata, Florence, which occupied him for two years towards 1683, a See also:

production of much labour and See also:energy. Franceschini died of See also:apoplexy at Volterra on the 6th of See also:January 1689. He is reckoned among those painters of the decline of art to whom the See also:general name of " machinist " is applied. He is not to be confounded with another Franceschini of the same class, and of rather later date, also of no small See also:eminence in his time—the See also:Cavaliere See also:Marcantonio Franceschini (1648-1729), who was a Bolognese. FRANCHE-See also:COMTE, a See also:province of See also:France from 1674 to the Revolution. It was bounded on the E. by See also:Switzerland, on the S. by See also:Bresse and Bugey, on the N. by See also:Lorraine, and on the W. by the duchy of See also:Burgundy and by Bassigny, embracing to the E. of the See also:Jura the valley of the See also:Saone and most of that of the See also:Doubs. Under the See also:Romans it corresponded to See also:Maxima Sequanorum, and after having formed See also:part of the See also:kingdom of Burgundy was in the early part of the See also:middle ages split up into the four countships of Portois, Varais, Amons and Escuens. In the loth See also:century these four countships were See also:united to See also:form a whole, which came to be called the countship of Burgundy, and belonged at that See also:time to the family of the See also:counts of See also:Macon. The limits of the countship were definitely settled under See also:Otto See also:William, son of See also:Albert or See also:Adalbert, See also:king of Italy (f1o27), who on the See also:death of his father-in-See also:law, See also:Henry (1002), tried to seize the duchy of Burgundy,but without success. The countship, which formed a See also:fief dependent on the kingdom of Burgundy, passed to Renaud I., the second son of Otto William. When the kingdom of Burgundy was joined to the Germanic See also:empire, he refused to pay See also:homage to the See also:emperor Henry III., whose See also:suzerainty over him never existed except in theory.

William I., surnamed the See also:

Great or Headstrong (1059-1087), still further added to' the See also:power of his See also:house by marrying Etiennette, heiress of the See also:count of See also:Vienne, and by acquiring from his See also:cousin See also:Guy, when the latter became a See also:monk at See also:Cluny, the countship of Macon. One of his sons, Guy, became See also:pope, under the name of See also:Calixtus II. His See also:grandson, Renaud III. (1097-1148), in his turn refused to pay homage to the emperor See also:Lothair, who retaliated by confiscating his dominions and giving them to See also:Conrad of See also:Zahringen. Renaud, however, succeeded in maintaining until his death his See also:possession of the countships of Burgundy, Vienne and Macon. He left as See also:sole heiress a daughter, Beatrix, whom his See also:brother William III. imprisoned, in See also:order to make an See also:attempt on her See also:inheritance; she was set See also:free, however, by the emperor See also:Frederick See also:Barbarossa, who married her in 1156. On the death of Beatrix (1185) the countship of Burgundy passed to Otto I. (1190-1200), the youngest but one of her sons, who had to dispute its possession with See also:Stephen, count of See also:Auxonne, the grandson of William III. Beatrix, the daughter and heiress of Otto I. (1200-1231), married Otto, See also:duke of See also:Meran (1.1234), under whose See also:government the inhabitants of See also:Besancon, which had been since the time of Frederick Barbarossa an imperial See also:city, formed themselves definitely into a See also:commune. Alix, daughter of Beatrix and of Otto of Meran, and heiress to the countship of Burgundy, marred See also:Hugh of Chalon, son of John the See also:Ancient or the See also:Wise (d. 1248), and a descendant of William 931 of the countship in spite of strong opposition from the nobles of the See also:country, but their See also:leader, John of Chalon-Arlay, was compelled to make his submission.

Another of Otto's daughters married See also:

Charles IV., the Handsome, and both princesses, together with their See also:sister-in-law See also:Margaret of Burgundy, were concerned in the celebrated trial of the Tour de See also:Nesle. Jeanne, however, continued to govern her countship when See also:Philip her See also:husband became king of France (Philip V., " the See also:Long "). Jeanne, their daughter and heiress, married See also:Odo IV., duke of Burgundy (1330-1347), and her sister Margaret became the wife of See also:Louis II., count of See also:Flanders. The countship returned to Margaret at the death of Odo IV., who was succeeded in his duchy by his grandson Philip of Rouvre. The See also:marriage of Philip the Bold with Margaret, daughter of Louis of Male, caused Franche-Comte to pass to the princes of the ducal house of Burgundy, who kept it up till the death of Charles the Bold (1477). On his death Louis XI. laid claim to the government of the countship as well as of the duchy, as trustee for the See also:property of the princess See also:Mary, who was closely related to him and destined to marry the dauphin (later Charles VIII.). See also:French garrisons occupied the See also:principal towns, and the See also:lord of Craon was appointed See also:governor of the country. In consequence of his severity there was a general rising, and at the same time Mary married See also:Maximilian, See also:archduke of See also:Austria, to whom her father had formerly betrothed her (Aug. 1477). The French were expelled from the fortified towns and Craon beaten by the See also:people of See also:Dale. Charles of See also:Amboise, who took his place, reconquered the province, and even Besancon submitted to the authority of the king of France, who promised to respect its privileges. On the death of Louis XI.

(1483), the estates of Franche-Comte recognized as See also:

sovereign his son Charles, who was betrothed to the little Margaret of Burgundy, daughter of Maximilian and Mary (d. 1482), but when Charles VIII. refused Margaret's See also:hand in order to marry See also:Anne of See also:Brittany there was a fresh rising, and the French were again driven out. The treaty of Senlis (23rd May 1483) put an end to the struggle: Charles abandoned all his pretensions, and Maximilian was thus left in possession of Franche-Comte, the See also:sovereignty of which he handed on to his son Philip and ultimately to the See also:crown of See also:Spain. He had, however, constituted his daughter Margaret sovereign-governess of Franche-Comte for See also:life, and under the See also:administration of this princess (who died in 1530), as under the See also:rule of Charles V., the country enjoyed See also:comparative See also:independence, paying a " See also:don gratuit" of 200,000 livres every three years, and being actually governed by the See also:parliament of D61e, and by See also:governors chosen from the See also:nobility of the country. It was Franche-Comte which furnished Philip II. of Spain with one of his best counsellors, See also:Cardinal Perrenot de See also:Granvella. In the 16th century the country was disturbed by the See also:preaching of See also:Protestant doctrines, which gained adherents especially in the See also:district of See also:Montbeliard, and later by the See also:wars between France and Spain. In 1595 the armies of Henry IV. levied contributions on Besancon and other towns; but the people of Franche-Comte succeeded in obtaining See also:special terms of See also:neutrality in order to shelter themselves from injury from either of the parties in the See also:war, and enjoyed a See also:period of See also:calm under the government of the infanta See also:Isabella See also:Clara See also:Eugenie and the archduke Albert (1599-1621). But the country suffered greatly from the ravages of the See also:Thirty Years' War, from the presence of the See also:army of the Condes, which besieged D61e, from the devastation of the troops of See also:Gallas, and later of those of See also:Bernard of See also:Saxe-See also:Weimar. The See also:peace of See also:Westphalia (1648) confirmed Spain in the possession of Franche-Comte. In I668 the French again entered it, and the See also:conquest, of which the See also:foundations had been laid by the intrigues of the See also:abbot of Watteville and the French party constituted by him, was easily accomplished by See also:Conde and See also:Luxemburg, Louis XIV. directing the army in Franche-Comte for some time in See also:person. None the less, the country was restored to Spain at the peace of See also:Aix-la-Chapelle (1668), but in 1674 Louis headed another expedition there. Besancon capitulated after a See also:siege of twenty-seven days, and D61e and See also:Salins also See also:fell into the hands of the invaders.

In 1678 the treaty of See also:

Nijmwegen gave Franche-Comte to France (the principality of Montbeliard remaining in the possession of the house of See also:Wurttemberg, which had acquired it by marriage), and it was in celebration of this conquest that the Arc de Triomphe of the Portes See also:Saint See also:Denis and Saint See also:Martin at See also:Paris was erected. Franche-Comte became a military government (gouvernement). The estates ceased to meet, and the old " don gratuil " was replaced by a tax which became increasingly heavy. Louis made Besancon, which See also:Vauban fortified, into the See also:capital of the province, and transferred to it the parliament and the university, the seat of which had hitherto been D61e. For purposes of administration, the See also:county was divided among the four great bailliages of Besancon, D61e, Amont (See also:chief See also:town See also:Vesoul) and Aval (chief town Salins). At the Revolution were formed from it the departments of Jura, Doubs and Haute-Sabne. See Dunod, Histoire See also:des Sequanois; Hist. du comte de Bourgogne (See also:Dijon, 1735-1740) ; E. Clerc, Essai sur l'histoire de la Franche-Comte (2nd ed., Besancon, 1870). (R.

End of Article: FRANCESCHINI, BALDASSARE (1611-1689)

Additional information and Comments

There are no comments yet for this article.
» Add information or comments to this article.
Please link directly to this article:
Highlight the code below, right click, and select "copy." Then paste it into your website, email, or other HTML.
Site content, images, and layout Copyright © 2006 - Net Industries, worldwide.
Do not copy, download, transfer, or otherwise replicate the site content in whole or in part.

Links to articles and home page are always encouraged.

[back]
FRANCESCHI, PIERO (or PIETRO) 		[next]
FRANCESCO

Site © 2006 - Net Industries