Lithotheque
Roman workshop Lithotheque, 1763 Wood, bronze and polychrome marbles Museo Schifanoia, inv. OA992 The lithotheque, a unique and sought-after object, consists of two wooden, console-shaped valves joined by two metal hinges and resting on four gilded bronze lion paws. The interior surface is entirely occupied by 131 rigorously cataloged and classified stone tiles, representative of […]
Scarsellino, Beheading of Saint Margaret
Ippolito Scarsella aka Scarsellino (Ferrara, 1551 – 1620) Martyrdom of St. Margaret, 1611 Oil on canvas Museo Schifanoia, inv. DOC51 The work depicts St. Margaret at the moment of martyrdom at the hands of the executioner, holding a taut rope in her left hand and a sword in her right. The saint is kneeling, her […]
Workshop of Niccolò Baroncelli, Christ Crucified
Niccolo Baroncelli? (doc. 1434-1453) Christ crucified, c. 1450 Carved and sculpted wood Museo Schifanoia, inv. OA1731 Fortuitously rediscovered in 2003 during restoration work in the church of San Cristoforo alla Certosa, the large Crucified Christ is a work of extraordinary quality and uncommon expressive power. Although it is impossible to reconstruct the original provenance, the […]
Guido Mazzoni, Painful
Guido Mazzoni (Modena 1450 – 1518) Sorrowful, 1480-85 Painted terracotta Museo Schifanoia, inv. OA1634 Documented from the early 18th century in the Ferrara church of San Giovanni Battista and attributed to Guido Mazzoni only in 1972, the Dolente is traditionally believed to be the fragment of a larger sculptural group now unfortunately lost. The […]
Guglielmo Giraldi, Saint Christopher’s Bible
Guglielmo Giraldi (doc. in Ferrara between 1441 and 1494) Bible of San Cristoforo alla Certosa, c. 1467-75 Membranaceous, 4 vols. Museo Schifanoia, invv. OA 1346, 1347, 1348, 1349 The monumental four-volume Bible from the Carthusian monastery of San Cristoforo is one of the masterpieces of Ferrara Renaissance illumination. The transcription of the Bible was entrusted […]
Large plate with seated angel
Large dish with angel, last quarter of the 15th cent. Engobed, graffitied and painted terracotta Museo Schifanoia, inv. OA190 The large dish, reassembled in 4 fragments, features a rounded rim and a wide, slightly oblique brim decorated with a heart-shaped leaf scroll. The bowl depicts an angelic figure seated on a low throne, her […]
Lionel Medal
Antonio di Puccio Pisano known as Pisanello (c. 1394 – 1455) Leonello d’Este, on the reverse Blindfolded lynx, 1441-44 Bronze Museo Schifanoia, inv. NU51183 Created by Pisanello between 1441 and 1444, the medal features on the obverse the bust of Marquis Leonello d’Este with thick hair and cotta with richly decorated surcoat and on […]
Mario Schifano, Aquatic
Mario Schifano (Homs 1934 – Rome 1998) Aquatic, 1988 Acrylic and enamel on canvas, 150.6 x 200.2 cm Galleries of Modern and Contemporary Art, Franco Farina Collection. Franco Farina and Lola Bonora donation, i nv. 8279 A leading figure on the international pop scene, Mario Schifano made his debut as a self-taught artist in […]
Mimmo Rotella Venetian Nostalgia
Mimmo Rotella (Catanzaro 1918 – Milan 2006) Venetian Nostalgia, 1962 Decollage on canvas, 38 x 30 cm Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art “Filippo de Pisis,” inv. 8272 After his studies in Naples, Mimmo Rotella settled in Rome in 1945, developing abstract-geometric production in parallel with experimentation with phonetic poetry, which he called “epistaltic.” […]
Leonor Fini, La Mémoire infidèle
Leonor Fini (Buenos Aires 1907 – Paris 1996) La Mémoire infidèle, 1979 Oil on canvas, 73 x 100 Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art “Filippo de Pisis,” inv. 787 Educated in the cultured Central European milieu of Trieste, frequented by James Joyce, Italo Svevo and Umberto Saba, Leonor Fini moved in 1929 to Milan where […]