Reclining Youth
by SCHEGGIA, Wood
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.