Carlo Marsuppini (1399–1453), also known as Carlo Aretino and Carolus Arretinus, was an Italian Renaissance humanist and

chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

of the

Florentine Republic The Republic of Florence, officially the Florentine Republic ( it, Repubblica Fiorentina, , or ), was a medieval and early modern state that was centered on the Italian city of Florence in Tuscany. The republic originated in 1115, when the Flo ...

Biography

Marsuppini was born in Genoa into a family from

Arezzo Arezzo ( , , ) , also ; ett, 𐌀𐌓𐌉𐌕𐌉𐌌, Aritim. is a city and ''comune'' in Italy and the capital of the province of the same name located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about southeast of Florence at an elevation of above sea level. ...

, but grew up and died in Florence. His father, Gregorio Marsuppini, had been governor of Genoa under Charles VI of France. Carlo was closely allied with the Medici family, and was a tutor to Lorenzo di Giovanni di Medici during the 1420s. Circa 1433, he loitered in brief exile in Verona with Lorenzo and Cosimo di Medici. In 1444, he followed Leonardo Bruni as chancellor of the Republic of Florence, with whom he shares the honor of a monument, designed by the sculptor Desiderio da Settignano, in the church of Santa Croce. Poggio Bracciolini became chancellor after Carlo's death. Upon the death of his father Gregorio in 1444, Carlo commissioned from the painter

Filippo Lippi Filippo Lippi ( – 8 October 1469), also known as Lippo Lippi, was an Italian painter of the Quattrocento (15th century) and a Carmelite Priest. Biography Lippi was born in Florence in 1406 to Tommaso, a butcher, and his wife. He was orp ...

an altarpiece for a memorial to be placed in the church of the Olivetan Convent at Arezzo. The altarpiece depicts the '' Coronation of the Virgin, with St. John and St. Benedict'' (called ''

Marsuppini Coronation The ''Marsuppini Coronation'' is a painting of the Coronation of the Virgin by the Italian Renaissance painter Filippo Lippi, dating to after 1444. It is in the Pinacoteca Vaticana, Rome. History The panel was commissioned by the chancellor of th ...

'', now in Rome,

Pinacoteca Vaticana The Vatican Museums ( it, Musei Vaticani; la, Musea Vaticana) are the public museums of the Vatican City. They display works from the immense collection amassed by the Catholic Church and the papacy throughout the centuries, including several ...

. He was a man of great culture, the author of letters and some poems. Among his works: a ''Consolatio'' of noteworthy Christian inspiration (which contrasts with his reputation for unbelief) upon the death of Piccarda de' Bueri (1368 to 1433), addressed to her sons Cosimo dei Medici and Lorenzo. Pope Nicholas V instructed him in 1452 to translate Homer's '' Iliad'' into Latin; however he died with much of the work incomplete. There also remain some "belles-lettres" in the Humanist genre, such as a translation of the '' Batracomyomachia'', and solemn Latin poetry. Two sons of Carlo Marsuppini, Cristoforo and Carlo (junior) appear as characters in the ''Commentarium in Convivium Platonis de Amore'' (“Commentary on Plato’s ''Symposium''”) by

Marsilio Ficino Marsilio Ficino (; Latin name: ; 19 October 1433 – 1 October 1499) was an Italian scholar and Catholic priest who was one of the most influential humanist philosophers of the early Italian Renaissance. He was an astrologer, a reviver of ...

. Among Carlo's pupils was

Giovanni Forteguerri Giovanni may refer to: * Giovanni (name), an Italian male given name and surname * Giovanni (meteorology), a Web interface for users to analyze NASA's gridded data * ''Don Giovanni'', a 1787 opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, based on the legend of ...

of Pistoia. Marsuppini was posthumously crowned poet laureate; his eulogy was read by Matteo Palmieri.

Citations

External links

* 1399 births 1453 deaths Politicians from Florence Italian Renaissance humanists 15th-century people of the Republic of Florence Translators of Homer {{Italy-bio-stub