Establishing Identity Is a Vital, Risky and Changing Business
A state monopoly on people’s official identities may be weakening
Never ditch a party without an excuse. On a cold Sunday night in 1409, the great and the good of Renaissance Florence — men of the governing classes, painters, goldsmiths, sculptors — had gathered for dinner. Donatello was there, so was Filippo Brunelleschi, the engineer behind the great dome of the Duomo. But where was Il Grasso the woodcarver? “The fat one” had not even had the decency to send his regrets. Such a snub deserved a response.
Brunelleschi had a plan: take away his identity. “In revenge for his not coming this evening,” he said, according to Antonio Manetti’s 15th-century biography of the architect, “we’ll make him believe that he has become someone else.”
Grasso returned home from his workshop the next day to find his front door locked. He knocked, expecting his mother, only to hear a voice — Brunelleschi’s — that sounded uncannily like his own. The voice called itself Grasso and referred to him as Matteo, a local craftsman. Just then, Donatello walked by: “Good evening Matteo, are you looking for Grasso? He’s just gone inside.”
Baffled, Grasso headed for the Piazza di San Giovanni to seek out friends, elucidation, reassurance. Instead…
