DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.68073#0098
72
OLD WORLD MASTERS
FRANCESCO SASSETTI AND HIS SON TEODORO.
Domenico Ghirlandaio Collection of
(1449-1494). Mr. Jules S. Bache.
Francesco Sassetti, a wealthy banker and Lorenzo de’ Medici’s agent
at Lyons, is shown here slightly under life-size, wearing a purple skull
cap and a red robe lined with fur and held at the waist by a black cord,
from which hangs a pouch, or purse. His right hand rests upon the
arm of the chair in which he is seated. His eyes look downward upon
his son, who stands at his left, in profile, gazing upward into his father’s
face. His hands are clasped and he is wearing a costume of silvery
grey brocade trimmed with white fur, undersleeves of dark-green and
slashed, and a scarlet cap. Through the window we have an interest-
ing view of an inlet of the sea (or a large river) with mountains and
buildings. On the top of the window-frame there is an inscription:
“Franciscos Saxettvs Theodorvs QVE.” The picture is an oil painting
on panel (29J/2 x 20X inches) and is supposed to have been executed
in 1487-1489. Francesco Sassetti was born about 1420 and died in
1491. Teodoro was born on March 11, 1479, and is seen here at about
the age of eight or nine, which fixes the date of the picture. It is inter-
esting to note that Teodoro Sassetti was the grandfather of Filippo
Sassetti, an early traveller in India (see Marencci, Lettere di Filippo
Sassetta, Firenze, 1855).
This picture comes from the Benson Collection and was formerly
owned by Mr. William Graham. Francesco Sassetti also appears in
the frescoes depicting the Life of St. Francis, which Ghirlandaio painted
in the Sassetti Chapel in the Trinita in Florence. Ghirlandaio intro-
duced into this series other members of the Sassetti family, as well as
many of his illustrious contemporaries and friends, including Lorenzo
de’ Medici, Pope Honorius, Maso degli Albizzi, Palla Strozzi, and
Angelo Acciaiuoli. In the fifth fresco, where St. Francis is bringing a
dead child to life, Ghirlandaio has painted his own portrait. He is con-
spicuous in a red cap and resting his hand upon his hip.
OLD WORLD MASTERS
FRANCESCO SASSETTI AND HIS SON TEODORO.
Domenico Ghirlandaio Collection of
(1449-1494). Mr. Jules S. Bache.
Francesco Sassetti, a wealthy banker and Lorenzo de’ Medici’s agent
at Lyons, is shown here slightly under life-size, wearing a purple skull
cap and a red robe lined with fur and held at the waist by a black cord,
from which hangs a pouch, or purse. His right hand rests upon the
arm of the chair in which he is seated. His eyes look downward upon
his son, who stands at his left, in profile, gazing upward into his father’s
face. His hands are clasped and he is wearing a costume of silvery
grey brocade trimmed with white fur, undersleeves of dark-green and
slashed, and a scarlet cap. Through the window we have an interest-
ing view of an inlet of the sea (or a large river) with mountains and
buildings. On the top of the window-frame there is an inscription:
“Franciscos Saxettvs Theodorvs QVE.” The picture is an oil painting
on panel (29J/2 x 20X inches) and is supposed to have been executed
in 1487-1489. Francesco Sassetti was born about 1420 and died in
1491. Teodoro was born on March 11, 1479, and is seen here at about
the age of eight or nine, which fixes the date of the picture. It is inter-
esting to note that Teodoro Sassetti was the grandfather of Filippo
Sassetti, an early traveller in India (see Marencci, Lettere di Filippo
Sassetta, Firenze, 1855).
This picture comes from the Benson Collection and was formerly
owned by Mr. William Graham. Francesco Sassetti also appears in
the frescoes depicting the Life of St. Francis, which Ghirlandaio painted
in the Sassetti Chapel in the Trinita in Florence. Ghirlandaio intro-
duced into this series other members of the Sassetti family, as well as
many of his illustrious contemporaries and friends, including Lorenzo
de’ Medici, Pope Honorius, Maso degli Albizzi, Palla Strozzi, and
Angelo Acciaiuoli. In the fifth fresco, where St. Francis is bringing a
dead child to life, Ghirlandaio has painted his own portrait. He is con-
spicuous in a red cap and resting his hand upon his hip.