Huck

I redraw the earlier argumentation for "Giovanni di Paolo" as the painter "Giovanni da Gabella in Ferrara 1423" based on this page

http://www.bottegadartetoscana.it/d...ng.asp?codice=5

as I discovered later that "Biccherna 'Gabella' " is a general terminus for small wall-paintings as discribed at this page:
http://www.fabernett.com/cgi-bin/fab455/43673
... especially used in Siena

... so my error

It stays, that we have a very well paid painter "Giovanni da Gabella" active 1423 in Ferrara, who disappears ... either he died or he stayed unrecorded in the future or he changed his name

(is noted at this page)
http://trionfi.com/0/d/13

In Ferrara Giovanni dalla Gabella is noted twice, the other record ...



http://books.google.com/books?id=Ja...hl=en#PPA247,M1
Women in Italy, 1350 - 1650" by Mary Rogers and Paolo Tingali

Both commissions, the playing card deck and the 2 chests, are paid with high prizes, so it isn't plausible, that "Giovanni dalla Gabella" had been an otherwise unknown artist.
The mentioned servant Zoexe (in the chests document) plays later a dramatic role in the scandal of Parisina's death ...

http://trionfi.com/0/d/14/
http://trionfi.com/0/d/15/

... also he is the same man, who imported for Parisina the "VIII Imperatori cards from Florence".

http://trionfi.com/0/p/06/

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Huck

"getting it home to the writing desk"

Huck

The Italian Wiki informs to "Gabella":



So "Gabella" means (possibly) a sort of tax ...

There are locations with the name "Gabella" (or similar) in Italy ... the most near seems to be near Ancona and has nowadays 357 inhabitants. It's not sure, that it already existed in 15th century.

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Huck

"getting it home to the writing desk"

Huck

I took (after my discovery of an identity between "Giovanni della Gabella" and "Giovanni di Paolo", of which I thought reason to redraw it) a walk to the library and detected a "Giovanni di Paolo" in a small entry of a dictionary about miniaturists. This entry included the information, that this "Giovanni di Paolo" to have been 1423 (the year in which Giovanni della Gabella impressed Ferrara) in Ferrara ... so, in spite of my own doubts about this connection, there exists the possibility, that Giovanni di Paolo really had been in Ferrara.

Then I took a larger dictionary about artists and detected under "Giovanni della Gabelle (Gabella)", that he is said to have worked longer time for the court in Ferrara from 1423 - 1439, and his works had been playing cards and a cassone (as noted in 1423) and so curious things like paperhangings, embroidery, bed curtains and furniture (? possibly the cassone ?).

Then I took in the dictionary the entry "Giovanni di Paolo" and there I found nothing about a stay or an occasionally presence in Ferrara, but I found, that Giovanni di Paolo had earlier before 1439 commissions from a Milanese merchant (from this context I concluded, that this might have been a sign of presence in Northern Italy) and that Giovanni di Paolo had appeared under various names. Around the date of 1440 Giovanni di Paolo settled in Siena and had a long life there.

From all this I took the conclusion, that Giovanni della Gabella and Giovanni di Paolo might be still the same person ... just the case of a suspicion, not more.

I speculate, that Gabella's strange occupations (paperhangings, embroidery, bed curtains) might have the context of textil-printing technique (stamping), which possibly would fit with his occupation as a playing card painter.

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Huck

"getting it home to the writing desk"

Huck

I found a work, which is given to Giovanni di Paolo from 1421 (other researchers say, that no work exists before 1426) and it is at ...



and is a "Wedding Casket with the Triumph of Venus"

http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/ht...aolo/index.html

... somehow a similar object to the Cassone, which is mentioned for Parisina's lady in 1423 (Gabella's second production in the year 1423). The object is in the Louvre, the identification and date is possibly given at the inscription (I can't read it completely and have my doubts), so possibly rather sure.


*********
This is a biography of Giovanni di Paolo



Beside the sentence "Although his training is not recorded, it is likely that he had early Lombard patrons, and was influenced by Lombardian book illumination. " the life description gives the impression, that he always had been in Siena and not in Northern Italy.

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Huck

"getting it home to the writing desk"

Cerulean

http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&...images&aq=f&oq=

http://www.foliosociety.com/book/PRD/1paradiso

I will have to look, used to have an art book about his--may have given it to a former history teacher.

Cerulean

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cerulean daimon...prosperous gales waft ships along, and swell the spacious sails; add gentle peace, and fair-haired health beside, and pour abundance in a blameless tide." - Orphic Hymn 17 to Poseidon