Francesco Pesellino

Who was Francesco Pesellino?

Francesco Pesellino, also known as Francesco di Stefano, Il Pesellino, Francesco Peselli, and Francesco di Stefano Pesellino was an Italian painter. His father was the painter Stefano di Francesco, and his maternal grandfather was the painter Giuliano Pesello, from whose name the diminutive nickname of "Pesellino" arose. After the death of his father in 1427, the young Francesco Pesellino went to live with his grandfather, Giuliano Pesello, adopting his name. Francesco Pesellino remained in his grandfather’s studio until the latter’s death, when he joined the studio of Filippo Lippi. He married in 1442, and probably joined the Florence painters' guild in 1447. In the following years he made a reputation with small, highly finished, works, either religious subjects for predellas or private devotions, or secular subjects, often for insetting into furniture or panelling.

Pesellino died in Florence in 1457, at only 35, cutting short a career with great promise. His style "anticipates the developments of later Florentine painters such as Verrocchio and the Pollaiuoli".