SCHEGGIA - b. 1406 San Giovanni Valdarno, d. 1486 Firenze - WGA

SCHEGGIA

(b. 1406 San Giovanni Valdarno, d. 1486 Firenze)

Italian painter, original name Giovanni di ser Giovanni Guidi. The son of a notary and younger brother of Masaccio, he spent some time as a mercenary soldier. From December 1420 and through the following year Giovanni is recorded in Florence in the workshop of Bicci di Lorenzo. In 1426 he is mentioned in the estimo and in 1427 in the catasto (land registry declaration) written by his brother. Documents suggest that he was in close collaboration with Masaccio’s workshop. In 1429 Giovanni paid a three soldi tax based on his own professional activity. In 1430 he enrolled in the Compagnia di S Luca, where he appears as Scheggia (‘Splinter’), a nickname given in Tuscany to individuals of slight stature or who are somehow connected with wood. On 23 October 1433 Giovanni matriculated in the Arte dei Medici e Speziali.

The Virgin and Child with SS John the Baptist, Anthony Abbot, Julian and James (private collection), which recalls the style of Masaccio, is datable to the 1430s or 1440s. It shows close similarities with Giovanni’s only signed work, the fragmentary fresco dated December 1457 depicting the Martyrdom of St Sebastian in S Lorenzo, San Giovanni Valdarno. The frescoes of the adjoining bay depicting scenes from the Life of St Anthony Abbot are also stylistically similar to the work of 1457. The same hand was recognized in the signed fresco and in works previously attributed to the anonymous painter designated the Master of the Adimari Cassone, also known as the Master of Fucecchio. The former name refers to a spalliera depicting a wedding scene (Florence, Accademy), while the second derives from the altarpiece from the collegiate church of Fucecchio, near Empoli, depicting the Virgin and Child in Glory with SS Sebastian, Lazarus, Mary Magdalene and Martha (Fucecchio, Museo Civico). The panel depicting a game of ‘civettino’ (a kind of boxing; Florence, Palazzo Davanzati), perhaps originally part of a forziere (nuptial chest) or spalliera, has been assigned to the Master of the Adimari Cassone.

Scheggia’s known works primarily consist of colmi (little tabernacles) depicting the Virgin and Child intended for private devotion, birth salvers and paintings for furniture, including panelling and forzieri decorated with single figures on the inside of the lid or depicting a narrative scene. Between 1436 and 1440 Scheggia collaborated on the intarsia designs for the cupboards on the south wall of the Sagrestia delle Messe (new sacristy) in Florence Cathedral. The testimony of Brunelleschi’s biographer Antonio Manneti indicates that Scheggia was on close terms with the architect. For the birth of Lorenzo de’ Medici on 1 January 1449, Scheggia was commissioned to paint a birth salver depicting the Triumph of Fame (New York, New York Historical Society). Among the chests with wall panelling inventoried in 1492 in the Medici town house on the Via Larga, Florence (all untraced), was a spalliera, recorded as by Scheggia, that depicted a famous joust of Lorenzo’s in 1469. In 1469 Scheggia declared to the tax officials that he was infirm. His last report is dated 1480.

Game of Civettino (a Birth Salver)

The “desco da parto” (birth salver) was originally used in Florence for bringing food to pregnant women, and seem to have become traditional gifts at birth. This example is decorated with a representation of the game of civettino (little owl). It was a tough popular game of skill, required good reflexes an eye for dodging and parrying, and speed. The point of the game was that the players had to stay within a certain distance of each other - as can be seen from the picture, the right foot of one participant having to touch the other’s left.

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Game of Civettino (a Birth Salver)

Lo Scheggia, brother of Masaccio, was one of the favourite artists of the wealthy Florentine families for painting of scenes on marriage chests, birth plates, and in general for the ornamentation of furniture and household fittings. The desco da parto (birth salver) was used in the Quattrocento to celebrate the birth of children. It was either round or octagonal in shape, painted sometimes on both sides with sacred and profane subjects.

This panel shows a street scene with game called “civettino”. It represents an idealized vision of 15th-century Florence, with its architecture, customs, clothing, and scenery.

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Game of Civettino (detail)

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Madonna and Child Enthroned

Lo Scheggia, the younger brother of Masaccio produced, among others, a group of devotional paintings representing the Madonna and Child. In this painting the Madonna is flanked by two female saints and the symbols of the four Evangelists.

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Madonna and Child with a Host of Musical Angels

Like many of the artist’s early works, the present panelshows the influence of his elder brother, Masaccio, but also that of Fra Angelico.

Suggested listening (streaming mp3, 2 minutes):

Guglielmo Ebreo da Pesaro: Gratioso

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Madonna and Child with a Host of Musical Angels (detail)

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Reclining Youth

Cassoni (wedding chests) were constructed by specialized carpenters who delivered them to the painters’ workshop to be adorned with scenes on the front and side panels and often on the lids. The inside was often decorated with textile patterns and a male or female nude reclining in the entire length of the lid.

The picture shows the inner lid of a wedding chest with the image of a reclining youth. The female pendant of it is in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. This images of a private nature promoted fertility, the female nudes are notable predecessors of Titian’s and Giorgione’s naked Venus figures.

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Triumph of Fame (a Birth Salver)

This large tondo featuring the Triumph of Fame on its front side was painted to celebrate the birth of Lorenzo de’ Medici who was later known as Lorenzo il Magnifico. This is one of many examples of such two-sided tondi painted for Florentine families, although exactly how they were used is still uncertain.The theme chosen for this one derived from the Triumphs of Petrarch and Boccaccio’s The Vision of Love. Trumpets announce the arrival of Fame from the globe on which the allegorical figure stands and knights arrive to honour her.

The feathers on the frame are a reference to Lorenzo’s father Piero de Gouty, and the reverse of the tondo features other references to the Medici, as well as to the family of Lorenzo’s mother, Lucrezia Tornabuoni.

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