Sebastiano Schiavone da Rovigno

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Sebastiano Schiavone da Rovigno (1420–1505) was a Venetian woodcarver and marquetry artist from Rovigno, today Rovinj in Croatia. He is also known as Sebastiano Schiavone, Sebastiano da Rovigno, Bastian Virgola, and nicknamed Zoppo (the lame). His name suggests Slav origin, but his exact background is unclear and some think he was Italian.

He joined the Dominican Order and later the Olivetans in 1461, and spent much of the 15th century working in monasteries across Italy in important art towns. He was a master to Fra Giovanni da Verona, teaching him woodwork at the monastery of San Giorgio in Ferrara, and he founded an Olivetan school of woodcarvers there.

Schiavone contributed to Ferrara’s art, drawing on experiences from Siena and Ferrara. He also worked with other masters in Verona, Mantua, and Bergamo, and his Renaissance style was influenced by Pietro Lombardo. One of his best-known works is the 34 choir seats for the Sant’Elena convent in Venice, connected to the Olivetani order; some seats are now in St. Mark’s Basilica. He helped decorate the old sacristy of St. Mark’s in 1450, working with Lorenzo Canozi of Lendinara.

Most of his works have been dispersed, making it difficult to determine how much influence he had on his pupil Giovanni da Verona.