Which of the following is a Renaissance chair named after a historical figure?

• A. Casapanca
• B. Savonarolla
• C. Louis XIII
• D. Sgabello

Answer: (B)

In Renaissance furniture, some chairs carry the name of a real historical figure, giving the piece a specific association beyond its form. The Savonarola chair is named for Girolamo Savonarola, the Florentine Dominican reformer who rose to prominence in late 15th-century Florence. The link to his notoriety and persona led designers and writers to attach his name to a distinct high-backed, relatively simple wooden chair, a form that became recognized as the Savonarola chair. The other terms refer to generic seating forms or later-period names rather than individuals: casapanca is basically a house bench or sofa; sgabello is a generic Renaissance stool or chair; Louis XIII denotes a later French style named after a king, not a Renaissance Italian chair. So the chair named after a historical figure is the Savonarola chair.