Squarcione, Francesco (1394-1474)

Paduan painter. He is more important as the master of a large workshop and collector of Greek and Roman antiquities than as an artist. His collection, which he used in his teaching, strongly influenced his many pupils, the most important of whom were Andrea Mantegna, Carlo Crivelli, and Cosimo Tura.

Squarcione was a merchant in early life who travelled extensively, especially in Greece, from where he brought back a collection of antiques. He took to painting, his fame as a teacher earning him the title of the ‘father of painting’. His influence on the development of the Venetian School was enormous.

A signed work by Squarcione is the polyptych Madonna and Saints (1449-52, Museo Civico, Padua).