Francesco Scibec, called Scibec da Carpi, was a 16th-century Italian furniture maker from

Carpi Carpi may refer to: Places * Carpi, Emilia-Romagna, a large town in the province of Modena, central Italy * Carpi (Africa), a city and former diocese of Roman Africa, now a Latin Catholic titular bishopric People * Carpi (people), an ancie ...

near

Modena Modena (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language#Dialects, Modenese, Mòdna ; ett, Mutna; la, Mutina) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern I ...

. He worked for the French royal court amongst a group of artists now called the first

school of Fontainebleau The School of Fontainbleau (french: École de Fontainebleau) (c. 1530 – c. 1610) refers to two periods of artistic production in France during the late Renaissance centered on the royal Palace of Fontainebleau that were crucial in forming the No ...

. Francesco arrived at the building of

Fontainebleau Fontainebleau (; ) is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a sub-prefecture of the Seine-et-Marne department, and it is the seat of the ''arrondissement ...

for

Francis I of France Francis I (french: François Ier; frm, Francoys; 12 September 1494 – 31 March 1547) was King of France from 1515 until his death in 1547. He was the son of Charles, Count of Angoulême, and Louise of Savoy. He succeeded his first cousin once ...

at the same time as his compatriot,

Rosso Fiorentino Giovanni Battista di Jacopo (8 March 1495 in Gregorian style, or 1494 according to the calculation of times in Florence where the year began on 25 March – 14 November 1540), known as Rosso Fiorentino (meaning "Red Florentine" in Italian) ...

in 1530. There he completed the panelling of the Gallerie François Ier. One of his contracts for the renewed furnishing in oak and walnut of the great gallery and pavilion near the lake at Fontainebleau was made according to the king's personal instructions in February 1541. He also worked at the

Château d'Anet The Château d'Anet is a château near Dreux, in the Eure-et-Loir department in northern France, built by Philibert de l'Orme from 1547 to 1552 for Diane de Poitiers, the mistress of Henry II of France. It was built on the former château at the ...

for

Diane de Poitiers Diane de Poitiers (9 January 1500 – 25 April 1566) was a French noblewoman and prominent courtier. She wielded much power and influence as King Henry II's royal mistress and adviser until his death. Her position increased her wealth and family' ...

. In 1549 he was contracted to decorate boats for a pageant on the

Seine ) , mouth_location = Le Havre/Honfleur , mouth_coordinates = , mouth_elevation = , progression = , river_system = Seine basin , basin_size = , tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle , tributarie ...

for the entry of

Henry II of France Henry II (french: Henri II; 31 March 1519 – 10 July 1559) was King of France from 31 March 1547 until his death in 1559. The second son of Francis I and Duchess Claude of Brittany, he became Dauphin of France upon the death of his elder bro ...

to Paris. Francesco also made furniture and panelling for private and ecclesiastical clients. In July 1552 he accepted as apprentice Bartholomew, the son of another Italian painter colleague at Fontainebleau,

Francesco Pellegrini Francesco, the Italian (and original) version of the personal name "Francis", is the most common given name among males in Italy. Notable persons with that name include: People with the given name Francesco * Francesco I (disambiguation), sever ...

. In the two years from 1557 to 1559 he made furniture for the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

, for the Château and the Chapel in the woods of

Vincennes Vincennes (, ) is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. It is next to but does not include the Château de Vincennes and Bois de Vincennes, which are attached ...

, and for the

Château of Saint Germain-en-Laye A château (; plural: châteaux) is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking regions. Nowaday ...

. For Fontainebleau, he made a special picture frame for a map of Italy and other carved frames for the portraits of two ladies. In March 1537, he married Marguerite Samson, daughter of a French painter, Pierre Samson.Grodecki, Catherine, ''Documents du Minutier Central de Paris'', vol. 1 (1985), 265-269.

References

Léon Laborde, ed., ''Les comptes des bâtiments du roi (1528-1571): suivis de documents inédits sur les châteaux royaux et les beaux-arts au XVIe siècle'', vol. 1 (1877)
Internet archive, for the 1530s Fontainebleau building records {{DEFAULTSORT:Scibec, Francesco Businesspeople from Modena Italian woodworkers 16th-century Italian businesspeople People from Carpi, Emilia-Romagna French Renaissance Renaissance architecture in France Furniture makers