(b Cotignola, nr Ravenna, 1470–80; d Ravenna, between 31 Jan and 3 Dec 1532). Italian painter. He was possibly a pupil of Marco Palmezzano in Forlì. He primarily studied Ferrarese painting, which permeates his oeuvre and may account for certain eccentricities of style. He shared a workshop in Cotignola with his brother Bernardino Zaganelli ( fl 1499–1509). Their first known joint work was the Virgin and Child Enthroned with SS John the Baptist and Florian and Three Angels (signed and dated 1499; Milan, Brera). Their last, the Holy Family (1509; Bergamo, Gal. Accad. Carrara), is unusual in the prominence accorded to St Joseph. The fan-shaped trees that rise above the wooded landscape in this painting are also found in the one work definitely assigned solely to Bernardino, St Sebastian (signed and dated 1506; London, N.G., together with the original lunette). Francesco is documented in Ravenna from 1513, with his wife and orphaned niece, and from this period date the Baptism (signed and dated 1514; London, N.G.), painted for S Domenico, Faenza, and the Immaculate Conception (signed and dated 1513; Forlì, Pin. Civ.), which includes the pleasing motif of the angel leaning on his lute. The Nativity (after 1520) and Crucifixion (c. 1530; both Ravenna, Accad. B.A.) were mentioned by Vasari and mark the high points of Francesco’s late career. In the Crucifixion the expressive poses of the group of weeping women and the figure of John, the attention to detail and the setting of luminous colours against earthy ones are particularly striking. After his brother’s death Francesco responded to new stimuli, including German woodcuts. He was a painter of limited technical skill and worked in an old-fashioned tempera technique, but his work, notwithstanding its provincial limitations, is characterized by a fertile imagination.

• Zaganelli, Francesco (di Bosio)
  • Bertucci: (1) Giovanni Battista Bertucci