Scarsellino
Illustration — Driving of the merchants from the temple Scarsellino or Ippolito Scarsella (1550 (or 1551) – 28 October 1620) was an Italian mid-to-late sixteenth century reformist painter and one of the most important representatives of the School of Ferrara. His landscapes of both sacred and secular themes strongly anticipate the landscape painting traditions of the 17th century.
Also recorded as Ippolito Scarsella · Scarzellino · Scarzellini · Scarzelino
Scarsellino

Scarsellino · Wellcome Collection, London · Wellcome Collection · Public Domain Mark
- Born
- 1550 · Ferrara.
- Died
- 1620 · Ferrara.
- Nationality
- Italy
- Occupation
- painter · draftsperson · copper engraver
- Fields
- painting · Renaissance painting
- Known for
- The Annunciation · Female Saint · The Raising of Lazarus
- Languages
- Italian
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
Illustration — Driving of the merchants from the temple Scarsellino or Ippolito Scarsella (1550 (or 1551) – 28 October 1620) was an Italian mid-to-late sixteenth century reformist painter and one of the most important representatives of the School of Ferrara. His landscapes of both sacred and secular themes strongly anticipate the landscape painting traditions of the 17th century.
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Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q2295535
In this article
Life
Life
The recorded working language is Italian. The field of work recorded is painting and Renaissance painting. Places of work recorded in the authority are Ferrara, Modena and Parma. Works named in the authority record are The Annunciation, Female Saint and The Raising of Lazarus. Work by Scarsellino is recorded in the collections of Museo del Prado, Nationalmuseum, Minneapolis Institute of Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art and Metropolitan Museum of Art.
• Illustration — Nymphs at the Bath Ippolito Scarsella was born and died in Ferrara. His father was the lesser-known painter Sigismondo Scarsella, who was particularly skilled as an architect. Scarsellino traveled and worked extensively across Italy, encountering many influences. He lived in Venice for four years around 1570. The exact date is not known. He reportedly trained in Venice in the studio of Veronese. Scarsellino worked alongside the brothers Carracci in the Palazzo dei Diamanti in Ferrara. As can be observed from their works, the Ferrarese artist and the Bolognese painters exhibited a reciprocal influence upon one another. To name just one of many examples, Ludovico Carracci's 1616 Martyrdom of Saint Margaret for the Church of San Maurizio in Mantua takes its inspiration from Scarsellino's painting of the same subject, executed five years prior for the Oratory of Saint Margaret in Ferrara. One of Scarsellino's most important pupils was Costanzo Cattani.
Work
Work
Scarsellino was an easel painter as well as a fresco artist. He often painted the same subject with variations, in a range of different formats and supports. His early works show the influences of various contemporary styles. Initially he was inspired by the elegant figures of Parmigianino (1503–1540), which were introduced in Ferrara by Girolamo da Carpi (1501 – c. 1557). He later set himself apart from this intellectual and highly formal vision of Mannerism by turning towards the magical, mood-driven world of Dosso Dossi. During his stay in Venice he was introduced to the late works of Giorgione and those of Veronese and Titian, which were an important influence on his work. • Illustration — Virgin and Child with Saints Mary Magdalene, Peter, Clare, Francis, and an Abbess A number of his works are in the collection of the Galleria Borghese in Rome, The Bathing Venus, Diana and Endymion and Venus and Adonis. Two of his paintings were destroyed during the bombing of Dresden at the end of World War II: Flight into Egypt and Holy Family at Work.
Selected works
Selected works
• The Way to Calvary (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston) • The Martyrdom of Saint Venanatius of Camerino (Houston) • Fame Conquering Time (Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford). • Virgin Adored by Saints (1609; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York) • Landscape with Abraham and Isaac (Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge) • Apollo (MFA, San Francisco) • Madonna with Saints (c1600; MFA, Houston) • Adoration of the Magi (c1600, Capitoline Museums, Rome) • Allegorical Scene (Pinacoteca Nazionale, Ferrara) • Saint Demetrius (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston) • Virgin and Angels Imploring Christ not to Punish Lust, Avarice, and Pride (Pinacoteca, Vatican) • Judgment of Paris (Uffizi Gallery, Florence)
Identity
Identity
Madonna and Child with St. Identity and origins. The authorities additionally record the headings Ippolito Scarsella, Scarzellino, Scarzellini, Scarzelino and Scarellino di Ferrara. His recorded language was Italian.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1550
Scarsellino born at Ferrara.
1620
Scarsellino died at Ferrara.
Primary material
Documents and archives
scholarly publication
- Circle of Scarsellino (Ippolito Scarsella), Madonna and Child with St. John the Baptist, Masterpieces from the Clowes Collection: Paintings, 2022
Scholarly · Crossref registry · 2022
- Scarsellino, Lo (ippolito Scarsella), Painting of the Golden Age, 1993
Scholarly · Crossref registry · 1993
reference work
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q2295535: Scarsellino
Reputable secondary · Wikimedia Foundation
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Scarsellino (Ippolito Scarsella), Nymphs at the Bath at the Minneapolis Institute of Art
- 2.Veronique Damien, Quatre nouveaux tableaux génois de Strozzi, Castiglione, Piola et Baciccio, Galerie Canesso, Paris, 2013, p. 8-11
- 3.Ugo Ruggeri. "Scarsellino." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press. Web. 6 February 2017
- 4.Dizionario storico degli uomini illustri ferraresi, by Luigi Ughi, p. 123
- 5.Scarsellino (Ippolito Scarsella) | the Virgin Adored by Saints.
- 6.Landscape with Abraham and Isaac, by Scarsellino.
- 7.Landscape with Abraham and Isaac, by Scarsellino.
Bibliography printed in the source article · 2
- Francis P. Smyth and John P. O'Neill. The Age of Correggio and the Carracci: Emilian Painting of the 16th and 17th Centuries. National Gallery of Art. 196–201. 1986.
- Freedberg, Sydney J. Painting in Italy, 1500-1600. Penguin Books. 574–577. 1993.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
scholarly publication
Circle of Scarsellino (Ippolito Scarsella), Madonna and Child with St. John the Baptist, Masterpieces from the Clowes Collection: Paintings, 2022Crossref registry
Institutional witnessscholarly publication
Institutional witnessreference work
Wikidata, structured authority record Q2295535: ScarsellinoWikimedia Foundation
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
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