Bust portrait of Frans Floris 1531 - 1576

Giulio Bonasone created this engraving of Frans Floris on a sheet sometime around the mid-16th century. This portrait testifies to the growing awareness and celebration of individual artists during the Renaissance. Born in Antwerp, Floris became a leading painter in the Netherlands, so Bonasone, an Italian engraver, reproduced his likeness in print. The inscription highlights Floris's prominence among his Belgian peers. This print then served to circulate Floris's image, solidifying his reputation across Europe and attesting to the rise of artistic celebrity. To understand the social currents at play, we need to examine the development of print culture and the increasing value placed on artistic innovation. Researching period publications and artists' biographies can reveal the social networks that propelled artists like Floris to fame. The very idea of the "artist" as a distinct social role emerges more clearly through such historical investigation.