Lo Scheggia - Game of Civettino (a Birth Salver) - WGA20983

Lo Scheggia (1406–1486) was an Italian painter, brother of the famous Masaccio. Born in San Giovanni in Altura, now San Giovanni Valdarno, he moved with his family to Florence in 1417. Between 1420 and 1421 he came into a relationship with Lorenzo Bicci, probably as an assistant in his workshop. In 1426 he was registered in Pisa as a guarantor for his brother Masaccio, and he refused his brother's inheritance in 1428, for the inconsistency. In 1429 the artist had his workshop in Florence in the parish of Sant'Apollinare.

Early Renaissance or Quattrocento (Italian mille quattrocento, or 1400) refers to the 15th century in Florentine art. Extraordinary wealth was accumulated in Florence among a growing middle and upper class of merchants and bankers. Florence saw itself as a city-state where the freedom of the individual was guaranteed, and where a significant share of residents had the right to participate in the government. In 1400 Florence was engaged in a struggle with the Duke of Milan. Then, between 1408 and 1414 again, by the King of Naples. Both died before they could conquer Florence. In 1425 Florence won the war against Milan. The Florentine interpreted these victories as signs of God's favor and imagined themselves as the "New Rome". In this new optimistic and wealthy environment, Florentine artists immersed themselves in studies of the humanities, architecture, philosophy, theology, mathematics, science, and design. They spurred a rejuvenation of the glories of classical art in line with the humanistic and individualistic tendencies of the contemporary era. Quattrocento was followed by the High Renaissance, North European Renaissance, Mannerism, and Baroque periods. Unlike the previous proto-renaissances, the innovations that emerged in Florence would go on to cause reverberations in Italy and Northern Europe, which continue to influence culture until today.