Stefano di Giovanni

Stefano di Giovanni di Consolo, known as il Sassetta (c. 1392–1450) was a Tuscan painter of the Late Gothic of the Sienese School style, adapting some Renaissance innovations.

The name Sassetta has been associated with him, mistakenly, only since the 18th century but is now generally used for this artist. The date and birthplace of Sassetta are not known. Some say he was born in Siena although there is also a hypothesis that he was born in Cortona. His father, Giovanni, is called da Cartona which might entail that Cortona was the artist's birthplace. The meaning of his nickname Sassetta is obscure and is not cited in documents of his time but appears in sources from the eighteenth century.

Sassetta was probably trained alongside artists like Benedetto di Bindo and Gregorio di Cecco but he had a style all of his own. He achieved a high level of technical refinement and was aware of artistic innovations of talented painters in Florence such as Gentile da Fabriano, Masolino and Masaccio. His work differs from the late Gothic style of many of his Sienese contemporaries.