The author of The Fat Woodworker is believed to be Antonio di Tuccio Manetti (1423-1497), a Florentine humanist and minor historical figure. He was a friend and companion of many artists and literary figures of his day and an admirer of Brunelleschi. A biography of Brunelleschi entitled The Life of Filippo di Ser Brunellesco and attributed to Manetti was the principle source of information on Brunelleschi's life for Giorgio Vasari and other biographers. A member of a family of silk merchants, Manetti was vicar, and he also held a number of high elective offices in the government of Florence. Because of his prominence and his knowledge of the arts and architecture, Manetti was selected as one of the judges in the competition for the design of the facade of Santa Maria del Fiore in 1490 (the original facade of the cathedral of Florence, begun by Arnolfo di Cambio, was never finished, and it was demolished in 1588).
Manetti had a wide range of interests, and, therefore, he has been variously described by historians as a mathematician, astronomer, architect, copyist, neoplatonic writer, Dante scholar, and artist.
Manetti is best known through the dedications and tributes of his more famous contemporaries. In The Lives of the Artists Vasari informs us that Paolo Uccello, obsessed with the artificial perspective invented by Brunelleschi, held long discussions on the subject of Euclidean geometry with Manetti. Uccello included Manetti among the five prominent Florentines whose portraits he kept in his house "to preserve their memory." Manetti represented achievement in mathematics. The others included Brunelleschi for achievement in architecture, Giotto for painting, Donatello for sculpture, and Uccello himself for perspective and animal painting.
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The city of Florence has had some very pleasant and amusing fellows in times past, and this is especially true of recent times as, when in the year 1409, a certain group of honorable men found themselves together one night at dinner. This was a group composed of men dedicated to the public life: some were master artisans and craftsmen, some were painters, some were goldsmiths, some were sculptors, some woodworkers and other types of artisans. They gathered together at the home of Tomaso Pecori, a very pleasant and upright man of intellect. He was drawn to their intelligence and skill and took great pleasure in their company.
