The Master of Flora was a painter,
active in France. Grouped under this name are a small number of paintings
and drawings executed by an artist probably of Italian origin who is
known to have worked in France between 1555 and 1570. A painting
representing Flora (private collection) has given its name to this
remarkable heir to the first Fontainebleau school. Together with
this painting, three other works permit a firm appreciation of the
personality and style of the Master: the Triumph of Flora
(private collection, Vicenza, shown below), which is considered to
be a workshop production; the Birth of Cupid (New York, Metropolitan
Museum); and the Allegory of Abundance (Ravenna, Accademia). All these
works show strong affinities with the style of
Rosso Fiorentino
and Francesco Primaticcio and also with that of
Nicolo dell'Abate, who arrived in Fontainebleau in 1552.
In these paintings the principal
figure, passive and occupying a large part of the picture space, is
contrasted with other more dynamic figures: putti in the Triumph,
servants in the Birth and children in the Abundance. As in the work
of Nicolo dell'Abate, but in a more anecdotal way, nature is very
much present, particularly in the flowers strewn around in such
profusion that they could almost be seen as the signature of the
artist.