FRANCESCHINI, MARCANTONIO. — Painter, born in Bologna on 5 April 1648 and died there on 24 December 1729. A pupil first of Galli-Bibiena and later of Cignani, he was prince of the Accademia Clementina and maintained a very flourishing school in Bologna.
He worked not only in his native city but also in Genoa, Modena, Reggio, Piacenza and other places, continuing the manner of Cignani and demonstrating his skill as a decorator everywhere. He also spent two years in Rome, where he produced some cartoons for the museums of St Peter’s. His most celebrated work is in Bologna, the decoration of the dome and vault of the church of the ‘Corpus Domini’, executed in collaboration with the quadratura of A. Hoffner; among his other works may be recalled: in his native city the decoration of the tribune of S. Bartolomeo and in Piacenza the pendentives of the dome in the Duomo. He also decorated in Genoa the great vault of the hall of the public council, later destroyed by fire but remembered by Lanzi as much admired by Mengs.
Among his paintings, in the Uffizi are the *Autoritari* and the *Amor vittoriosi*; in the Pinacoteca of Bologna a *Sacra Famiglia*, a *Vergine col Bambino* and an *Annunciazione*, all works (like the numerous canvases scattered in churches) which reveal a manneristic weariness and a fully accomplished academic skill.