The Brancacci Chapel in Florence

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:43

The Brancacci Chapel is a chapel in the church of Santa Maria del Carmine, which is located in Florence. This chapel is widely known for its beautiful frescoes on biblical themes, painted in the artistic style of the early Renaissance. About this unique chapel, its history and famous frescoes will be told in this essay.

History of the Chapel

The Church of St. Maria del Carmine, which houses the Brancacci Chapel, does not have a luxurious facade, like many churches in Florence. However, inside it is hidden a real gem of wall painting. The history of its appearance dates back to the distant 1367, when Piero Brancacci ordered the creation of a family chapel in the Carmine temple under construction since 1268. Later, the created masterpiece became not only a family chapel, but also played a big role in the life of the Florentine society, which was very devout. It contained the most famous and especially revered by the Florentines icon “St. Madonna del Popolo”, which was painted at the beginning of the 13th century.

Frescoes of the chapel

The frescoes of the Brancacci Chapel owe their appearance to FeliceBrancacci. Felice was a descendant of the founder of the chapel and was quite an influential statesman in Florence. In addition, he was a rival of Cosimo de' Medici (the Elder), who was also involved in politics.

Brancacci around 1422 ordered the artists Masaccio and Masolino to make frescoes in his family chapel in the Church of Carmine. The chapel was in the right transept (cross nave) of the church.

In 1423 Masolino started work and carried out the first stage of artistic painting. He created frescoes of the lunettes (part of the wall bounded by a semicircle), which, unfortunately, have not survived to this day. He also painted the vault of the Brancacci Chapel, and after that he left Florence.

Continuation of painting

In the middle of 1427 Masolino returned and resumed his work on the chapel. It is assumed that his partner Masaccio painted the chapel during Masolino's absence, however, there is no documentary evidence of this version.

However, in 1436 Cosimo Medici returned from a three-year exile, and the painting of the Brancacci Chapel by Masaccio and Masolino was interrupted. In 1735, Cosimo Medici imprisoned the customer himself near the city of Kapodistria (Slovenia) for a 10-year term. In addition, Felice Brancacci was declared a rebel, in connection with which all his property was confiscated.

Shutting down

Only in 1480, the artist Filippino Lippi continued to paint the fresco of the Brancacci Chapel, Masaccio and Masolino more above itdidn't work. Thanks to Lippi's painstaking work on the frescoes, it was possible to preserve the style of previous masters. There is a legend that Lippi wanted to become an artist after seeing the frescoes in this chapel as a child.

The chapel was owned by the Brancacci family for more than 400 years, until August 1780, when the influential Marquis Ricordi signed an agreement to buy out the patronage of the chapel. The frescoes have been repeatedly restored, the first restoration happened in the 18th century. In 1771, a fire broke out in the church and the frescoes were damaged by soot. However, the restorers managed to restore the medieval masterpiece.

In the middle and end of the 20th century, the last large-scale restoration work was carried out, which affected not only the frescoes, but also the architecture of the Brancacci Chapel. The biforium (lancet double-leaf window), which was located behind the altar, and the entrance arch were reconstructed. The arch leading to the chapel was changed from swept-back to semi-circular. According to eyewitnesses, the chapel and the church itself used to be closer to the Gothic style.

Description of frescoes

The theme of the frescoes, at the request of the customer, mainly concerned the life of the Apostle Peter, as well as original sin. The frescoes are on the back and side walls of the chapel in two rows, the third row has been lost. Under the frescoes there is a panel that imitates marble cladding.

To date, 12 scenes have been preserved, half of which were created by Masaccio almostcompletely or with the help of Mazolino. The series of frescoes begins with The Fall, followed by The Expulsion from Paradise. The series continues with the fresco “The Miracle with the Satyr” (on which, presumably, the artists depicted their customer), then there are works that are called:

• "Peter's Sermon to 3 Thousands";
• "The baptism of neophytes by Peter";
• "Peter Healing the Crippled";
• "Resurrection of Tafiwa";
• "Resurrection of the son of Theophilus";
• "The crucifixion of Peter and the dispute between Peter and Simon Magus";

and also:

• "Peter healing the sick with his shadow";
• "Peter distributing the property of the community among the poor";
• "An angel frees Peter from prison";
• "Paul visits Peter in prison."

The painting was done in a very realistic style for that time. The frescoes of the Brancacci Chapel in Florence were among the first such pictorial innovations. They literally shocked people who had never seen anything like this before.

Sample style

It is important to note that the frescoes of the Brancacci Chapel are a masterpiece of Renaissance painting. They are distinguished by the clarity and accuracy of the lines, the special realism of the characters and the transfer of their mood and character. Masaccio's life was very short, he lived only 27 years, and this work became the main thing for him.

These frescoes, thanks to the applied new imaging technique, namely aerial and linear perspective, instantly turned out to be an object for imitation. They became known as the basis (foundation) forof all Renaissance painting.

It is believed that these frescoes served as a guide for most of the great artists and sculptors of that time. For example, such masters as Leonardo da Vinci, Sandro Botticelli, Michelangelo Buanarotti and Rafael Urbinsky adopted artistic experience here, which they later used in their brilliant works.

The frescoes in the Brancacci Chapel are a real artistic masterpiece of the Renaissance, which has been preserved to our time. If you come to Florence, after visiting its many attractions, be sure to stop by this chapel. You will be amazed by the beauty and energy of this unique place.