In the 1530s the name of Francesco Xanto suddenly appeared on maiolica ware from Urbino, identifying the hand responsible for the pottery's decoration. Xanto's product belongs to a style known as istoriato pottery, whose surfaces display elaborate narratives, painted in colorful and complex compositions. In an attempt to rise to eminence in his field of endeavor, Xanto the painter of maiolica imitated many of the signs of distinction employed by other artists in the high status categories of painting, i.e., the artist/gentleman and court artist. Xanto wrote poetry in honor of the duke of Urbino, used emblems with classical allusions, and indicated learned sources for the images of his decoration. The article studies the various manifestations of Xanto's bid for patronage and status, and then studies one particular aspect of the painter's working methods. Xanto filled many compositions with figures borrowed from a particular series of prints, I Modi, engraved by Marcantonio Raimondi from drawings by Giulio Romano. Xanto appropriated these figures from erotic situations; the reasons for this choice and its significance for Xanto's output are explored in the concluding part of the study.
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