sonnets, inspired by her love for Collaltino di Collalto,
Count of Treviso, whom she met in 1549 and who even-
tually deserted her for another woman. Not widely known
until rediscovered by 19th-century Romantics, the work is
notable for its spontaneity and narrative continuity.
Stefano da Verona (Stefano da Zevio) (c. 1375–c. 1450)
Italian painter
The town of Zevio, just east of Verona, was reputedly the
painter’s birthplace, but his career is associated with
Verona itself, where he was a leading exponent of the
International Gothic style. The influence of ALTICHIERO
can be seen in his work; frescoes by them both appear
in several Veronese churches. The Madonna del Roseto
(Castelvecchio, Verona) is a good example of his style, but
his only dated work is the late Adoration of the Magi (1435;
Brera, Milan).
Stephanus See ESTIENNE PRESS
Stevin, Simon (1548–1620) Belgian mathematician and
engineer
Little is known of Stevin’s life other than that he was born
at Bruges, started life as a merchant’s clerk in Antwerp,
and then served as quartermaster-general of the Dutch
army. He is best known as the author of De thiende (The
tenth; 1585; French translation L’Arithmetique, 1585) in
which he introduced decimal fractions into Western
mathematics. Translated into English in 1608, it contains
the first English use of the word “decimal.” In works on
statics and hydrostatics Stevin made a number of mechan-
ical advances, the most important of which was his for-
mulation of the triangle of forces. He was the first
Renaissance author to take up and develop the work of the
Hellenistic mathematician and engineer Archimedes.
Stevin published in 1594 a work on FORTIFICATIONwhich
tackled the problem of designing forts capable of with-
standing ARTILLERY assaults. His Castrametatio (1617)
contains interesting details of contemporary army life. A
good complete edition of his Oeuvres Mathematiques was
published by the Elzevier press in 1634.
stiacciato See SCHIACCIATO
stilnovismo Collectively, the practitioners of the poetic
style described by DANTEas the DOLCE STIL NUOVO(Purga-
torio XXIV 57). The names originally mentioned by Dante
are Guido Guinizelli, CAVALCANTI, Lapo Gianni, Cino da
Pistoia, and himself. They were apparently those poets
who shared certain literary ideals, rather than a formally
constituted movement. Later scholarship has extended
this list by the addition of Gianni Alfani, Dino Fres-
cobaldi, Guido Orlandi, and Guido Novello da Polenta.
PETRARCHtransmitted the style to the whole of Europe. A
number of other Italian poets are categorized as stilnovisti,
for example Franceschino degli Albizzi, Sennuccio del
Bene, BOCCACCIO, Matteo Frescobaldi, Giovanni Gherardi
da Prato, and Cino Rinuccini, and later heirs include
Lorenzo de’ MEDICI, MICHELANGELO, and Torquato TASSO.Stimmer, Tobias (1539–1584) Swiss artist
Stimmer was born into a family of artists at Schaffhausen,
where he decorated the Haus zum Ritter with frescoes of
figures from ancient stories. After 1570 he was active
mainly in Strasbourg and painted the case of the astro-
nomical clock in the cathedral there. The portraits of
Jakob Schwyzer and his wife (Basle museum) demonstrate
his proficiency as a portraitist. Besides these undertakings,
the versatile Stimmer was significant as a draftsman, de-
signer of woodcuts and glass paintings, book illustrator,
and poet.Stoss, Veit (c. 1450–1533) German woodcarver and
sculptor
Leaving his native Nuremberg in 1476, Stoss went to Cra-
cow where he created the huge and complex altarpiece of
the Virgin Mary for the Marienkirche (1477–89). The in-
tensely dramatic and moving central panel depicts the
Dormition of the Virgin with the Assumption above; the
heads of the mourning apostles are vividly individualized
and the intricately folded drapery adds to the richness of
effect. Stoss also made the red marble tomb of King
Casimir IV Jagellon (died 1492) in Cracow cathedral. In
1496 Stoss returned to Nuremberg where he carried out
some major commissions in the city’s churches. Among
his other carvings, a St. Roch in unpainted limewood
(1516; SS. Annunziata, Florence) elicited high praise from
VASARI; generally, however, Stoss’s statues were poly-
chromed in accordance with the prevailing Gothic style.Strada, Jacopo (c. 1515–1588) Italian-born artist,
antiquarian, and collector
Although he was born in Mantua, Strada belonged to a
Netherlandish family. At an early age he began collecting
antique coins, on the basis of which he published his De
consularibus numismatibus in the 1550s. In the late 1540s
he moved to Augsburg, where he lived in the house of Jo-
hann Jakob Fugger (see FUGGER FAMILY) before moving on
to Paris and Lyons. In France he acquired from SERLIOthe
manuscript and plates of the seventh book of his great
work on architecture; Strada published this in 1575. In
1553 Strada issued a major work on the Roman emperors
illustrated from coins, Epitome thesauri antiquitatum, and
the following year he returned to Rome to enter the papal
service. He then moved to Nuremberg, where he worked
for the Fuggers as artist and goldsmith.
In Nuremberg Strada attracted the attention of Arch-
duke Ferdinand of Austria (later Emperor FERDINAND I)
and from 1557 he was in his employment. Under Ferdi-
nand’s successors, MAXIMILIAN IIand RUDOLF II, StradaSSttrraaddaa,, JJaaccooppoo 4 45511