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Nanto, Francesco de [da]
( fl c. 1520–32). Italian woodcutter. He was active in the Venice area, but his origins in the Savoy are indicated by the signature FRANCISCVS/DE NANTO/DE SABAVDIA on the print of the Healing of the Gouty Man (London, BM). Stylistic comparisons suggest a date between 1520 and 1525 for a series of 13 woodcuts of scenes from the Life of Christ (London, BM), taken from designs by Girolamo da Treviso the younger. A few other prints by him are known, after works by Amico Aspertini and Francesco Francia. The frame decorated with grotesques and allegorical motifs, signed DE NANTO, in the edition of Ludovico Ariosto’s Orlando furioso published in Ferrara in 1532 by Francesco Rosso da Valenza indicates his activity in book production. This frame is used for the title-page and again for the portrait of Ariosto, reputedly based on a design by Titian. The portrait itself was once considered to be the work of de Nanto, but it does not show the traces of wormholes that are apparent in the frame, which has led to the suggestion (see exh. cat.) that it may have been cut after the frame. The elegant and refined technique of the portrait also contrasts strongly with de Nanto’s sometimes harsh and irregular manner.
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