(b Florence, 8 Mar. 1494; d Fontainebleau or Paris, 14 Nov. 1540). Florentine painter and decorative artist; the name by which he is known means ‘the red-headed Florentine’. Vasari says that he ‘would not bind himself to any master’ (a story that fits in with his individuality of temperament), but in his youth he learned most from Andrea del Sarto, and together with Andrea's pupil Pontormo (Rosso's friend and close contemporary) he was one of the leading figures in the early development of Mannerism. His work was highly sophisticated and varied in mood, ranging from the refined elegance of the Marriage of the Virgin (1523, S. Lorenzo, Florence) to the violent energy of Moses Defending the Daughters of Jethro (c.1523, Uffizi, Florence) and to the disquieting intensity of the Deposition (1521, Pinacoteca Communale, Volterra).