- Carlo Marsuppini
Carlo Marsuppini (1399 - 1453), also known as Carlo Aretino and Carolus Arretinus, was a famous Renaissance humanist and chancellor of the Florentine Republic.
Marsuppini was born in
Arezzo but grew up and died inFlorence . His father, Gregorio Marsuppini, had been governor ofGenoa underCharles VI of France . He had close contact with theMedici family. In 1444, he followedLeonardo Bruni as chancellor of the Republic ofFlorence , with whom he shares the honour of a monument in Santa Croce (designed by the sculptorDesiderio da Settignano ). Upon the death of his father Gregorio (1444) he commissioned Filippo Lippi the round Coronation of the Virgin, with St. John and St. Benedict (called "Incoronazione Marsuppini" – "the Marsuppini Coronation", now in Rome, Pinacoteca Vaticana) for the Olivetan Convent at Arezzo.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 Contessina de' Bardi, addressed to her husband Cosimo dei Medici and her son Lorenzo.
Pope Nicholas V instructed him in 1452 to translateHomer '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"”) byMarsilio Ficino .External links
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