Giovanni Battista Pacetti was born in Città di Castello. He acquired the nickname “lo Sguazzino" because of his slap-dash methods: “sguazzare” means to splash.
Città di Castello
Scenes from the Life of Blessed Margherita (1662)
Fr. Lorenzo Giustini commissioned these frescoes depicting scenes from the life of the Blessed Margherita of Città di Castello in the lower storey of the cloister of San Domenico. Each of the frescoes has a painted inscription describing the scene. Some of the scenes are now ruined and others have been heavily restored. The first five are by the aged lo Sguazzino. They include these two, which depict:
✴the Blessed Margherita receiving the Dominican habit; and
✴the funeral of the the Blessed Margherita.
After the death of lo Sguazzino, Salvi Castellucci painted the other 27 lunettes and the frescoes of Dominican saints:
✴the date 1662 appears in the inscription under the fresco in which the Blessed Margherita educates the children of Venturino (her adoptive father); and
✴the same date appears in two inscriptions that also contain the signature “SC”, under:
•Blessed Margherita cures the blindness of Sister Venturella; and
•the resurrection of Giustolo da Marzano.
Work in the Duomo
The following works (17th century) in the Duomo are by or attributed to lo Sguazzino:
Cappella di San Michele Arcangelo
✴Trinity with the Virgin and St John the Baptist (above); and
✴SS Floridus and Amantius kneeling in a landscape, with the Castel Sant’ Angelo in the background and other saints to the sides.
The frescoes on the walls:
✴the capture of Christ; and
✴Christ’s descent into limbo.
Cappella dell’ Angelo Custode
Cappella di San Crescenzio
Cappella di San Carlo Borromeo
Sacristy
St Crescentian (early 17th century)
Saints (17th century)
The following four panels in the Pinacoteca Comunale, which are of unknown provenance, are attributed to lo Sguazzino:
✴two rectangular panels depicting SS Peter and Paul; and
✴two oval panels depicting unidentified male martyrs.
Saints (17th century)
St Crescentian St Laurence St Floridus St Amantius
The Museo del Duomo displays four panels of saints from the same, unknown provenance:
✴two attributed to lo Sguazzino:
•St Crescentian; and
•St Laurence; and
✴two attributed to his workshop:
•St Floridus; and
•St Amantius.
Martyrdom of St Bartholomew (17th century)
Madonna and Child with saints (17th century)
✴St Martin, the original titular of the church; and
✴three Franciscan saints:
•St Antony of Padua on the left (behind St Martin); and
•SS Francis and Clare on the right.
Madonna and Child with saints (17th century)
Bevagna
The following works are from San Domenico, Bevagna.
Miracle of San Domenico in Soriano (ca. 1626)
✴the copy of the miraculous image is attributed to lo Sguazzino; and
✴the surrounding figures of the Virgin and SS Catherine of Alexandria and Mary Magdalene are attributed to Andrea Camassei.
Miracle of the Crucifix (1642)
Scenes from the life of the Blessed James Bianconi (1640-1)
Spello
Madonna of the Girdle (ca. 1650)
Return to Art in: Bevagna; Città di Castello; Spello.