SCARSELLINO, IPPOLITO SCARSELLA, detto lo. –
Painter, b. in Ferrara in 1551 and d. there on 27 October 1620.
He was instructed in art by his father Sigismondo, detto Mondino, a mediocre painter who had studied in Venice under Paolo Veronese. Between 1570 and 1576 he completed his training in Bologna, in contact with the Carracci, and in Venice, studying the works of Veronese and the Bassano.
These influences gave S. a pleasing palette and a frank dexterity. Despite his eclecticism, he often displays a subjective lyrical nature expressed through fluid forms, generous impasto, beautiful silvery, gray, violet, and vermilion tonalities, and very delicate and fragrant landscapes. Above all, one should note the realistic taste absorbed from the Bassano, as he inserted episodes or details of domestic life into his noble compositions. Among the numerous works preserved in Ferrara, the following stand out: in the municipal Pinacoteca, the SS. Francesco e Lorenzo, the Annunciazione, and several portraits; in the church of S. Paolo, the Pentecoste, the Nascita del Battista, and the large apsidal fresco of the Rapimento di Elia; in the church of the Cappuccine, two gentle Madonne con santi; in that of S. Giovanni, the dramatic Pietà and Decollazione del Battista; and in S. Cristoforo, near the Certosa, the highly animated scene of the Invenzione del corpo di s. Bruno. Notable in the Galleria Estense of Modena are the youthful Nascita della Vergine, the Adorazione del Bambino, with a glory of musical angels, and seven oval friezes depicting mythological subjects, which come from a ceiling of the Ferrara Palazzo dei Diamanti. S. is also represented fairly well in the collections of Rome, especially in the Galleria Borghese, where, among other works, one may admire an exquisite S. Famiglia, a Diana ed Endimione, and a Venere al bagno. Other singular paintings are found in Florence (e.g., the Adorazione dei Magi in the Cioni collection), Dresden, Budapest, Darmstadt, Hanover, London, Leningrad, the United States, etc.