1441/1442 -1493 · Florence, Cassona and early Renaissance

Ancient stories, biblical stories and Florentine landscapes unfold in Jacopo del Sellaio in long narrative images, designed for Renaissance homes and devotion.

Jacopo di Arcangelo was born in Florence in 1441 or 1442. His nickname, del Sellaio, recalls the saddler's profession exercised by his father. He probably trained with Fra Filippo Lippi, in an environment where the young Sandro Botticelli also worked. From Lippi, he retained the softness of faces, the fluid line and the taste for elegant figures; from the Florentine culture of the 1470s and 1480s, he adopted open landscapes and continuous narration. Jacopo joined the Compagnia di San Luca in 1472, then directed an active workshop, associated around 1480 with Filippo di Giuliano. A significant part of his production was intended for private interiors. He painted cassoni panels, chests offered to the occasion of weddings, as well as spalliere integrated into the paneling. These horizontal formats host several episodes of the same story in a continuous landscape. The stories of Esther, Orpheus and Eurydice or Psyche offer models of virtue, love, loss and fidelity. The Coronation of Esther by Ahasuerus transforms the biblical ceremony into a civic spectacle: architecture, procession, clothing and gestures order the young woman's passage to royal power. Jacopo also produces Madonnas, Passion scenes and altarpieces for public or domestic devotion. His workshop also produces Madonnas, Passion scenes and altarpieces for public or domestic devotion. His workshop also responds to sustained demand, which explains collaborations and differences quality between attributed works. However, the best panels retain an instantly recognizable poetry: fine silhouettes, bold colors, delicate trees and imaginary cities give the story the appearance of a simultaneously familiar and legendary world. Died in Florence in 1493, Jacopo del Sellaio occupies an essential place in the Florentine narrative art of the first Renaissance. The selection "Jacopo del Sellaio" notably compares The Coronation of Esther by Ahasuerus. His reading favors composition.

Del Sellaio tells the story by extending time in the landscape: a road, a palace and several gestures are enough to fit an entire story onto a single sign.