GOZZOLI, Benozzo

Benozzo Gozzoli was a student of Fra Angelico who had a formative influence on him. He collaborated in the pictorial decoration of the dormitory cells in the Florentine Dominican monastery of San Marco, which took place from 1438 to ¹⁴⁴⁴⁄₄₅. There Fra Angelico and his assistants were painting a small devotional fresco in each cell, while Cosimo de’ Medici’s double cell (cell ³⁸⁄₃₉) was furnished with a larger wall painting, the Adoration of the Magi (cell 39) and a Crucifixion with Saints Cosmas, Damian, John and Peter (cell 38, the vestibule). The complete integration of the youthful Benozzo’s artistic style with that of Fra Angelico has meant that it is only in recent times that it has been possible to identify with a fair degree of accuracy a variety of interventions by his hand, which were first limited to isolated figures or group of figures. Later he had more responsibility and scholars now agree that he was almost exclusively responsible for the decoration of Cosimo de’ Medici’s cells.

Gozzoli’s decisive part in the production of the Adoration of the Magi can be recognised stylistically by the fact that, compared t the works of his teacher, the colours are softer, the plasticity of forms is reduced in favour of sharper contours, and the landscape in the background acts as a backdrop. Here the religious theme of the Epiphany is set in a bleak rocky landscape which rises up behind the Three Kings’ retinue. This corresponds to the religious mood of Fra Angelico’s pictures and does justice to the fresco’s function as a devotional picture.

In contrast to iconographical tradition, Gozzoli has not depicted the arrival of the procession but shows the events in the chronological order in which they happened in the biblical account of Christmas: the corner pilasters flanking the choir separate the earthly procession from the heavenly sphere of the angels. The angels - unrecognised by the humans - are paying homage to the Christ Child on the altar painting, while the Three Kings are still travelling and the shepherds in the fields are yet to experience the annunciation of the birth.

Suggested listening (streaming mp3, 4 minutes):

C�sar Franck: Panis angelicus

In contrast to iconographical tradition, Gozzoli has not depicted the arrival of the procession but shows the events in the chronological order in which they happened in the biblical account of Christmas: the corner pilasters flanking the choir separate the earthly procession from the heavenly sphere of the angels. The angels - unrecognised by the humans - are paying homage to the Christ Child on the altar painting, while the Three Kings are still travelling and the shepherds in the fields are yet to experience the annunciation of the birth.

Suggested listening (streaming mp3, 4 minutes):

C�sar Franck: Panis angelicus

The singing and praying choirs of angels are embedded in a paradisiacal landscape. In the dark chapel, with the only artificial light coming from candles and torches, the powerful and shining colours and the gold and metal layers on the wall paintings must have created an impressive sight.

The first picture in the second row on the left shows the Arrival of St Augustine in Milan. In front of a columned loggia, which is reminiscent of the Loggia dei Lanzi (between 1376 and 1381) with three bays in Florence, St Augustine appears in several small simultaneous scenes. Here Benozzo makes a more decisive use than he did in Montefalco of the opportunities of emphasizing the scenes in the picture by means of the architecture: in one place, the saint is standing in front of a column, and at another between two columns.

In the Arrival of St Augustine in Milan, Benozzo once again combines three scenes from the legend of St Augustine as simultaneous events. On the first occasion St Augustine appears before the columned loggia and a servant is helping him take off his riding clothes. In the background, the saint is kneeling before a Muslim scholar. In the foreground on the right we can see St Augustine being greeted by St Ambrose.

The composition of the right wall painting of the Shrine of the Madonna della Tosse precisely repeats the construction of the scene on the left wall: the catafalque and the empty sarcophagus correspond to each other, as do the strip of landscape used to separate the earthly and heavenly spheres. As in earlier examples, Benozzo Gozzoli has combined the Assumption with a depiction of Mary lowering her girdle.

St Augustine is seen at the very moment he is baptized, kneeling in prayer before the pillars of a baptistery behind a rectangular basin filled with water, on which the picture’s date of origin has been recorded: ADI PRIMO DAPRILE MILLE CCCCLXIIII (1 April 1464). He is surrounded by his followers, including his mother who is standing behind him. The clergyman holding the newly baptized man’s clothing is thought to be a portrait of Domenico Strambi, the man who commissioned the cycle.

The Baptism of St Augustine was, according to the “Legenda Aurea” or Golden Legend, carried out at Easter 378 by St Ambrose in Milan with the words “te Deum laudamus” (we praise you as [our] God), to which St Augustine replied “te Dominum confitemur” (we recognize your as [our] Lord). This liturgical hymn of thanksgiving, the “Te Deum”, is mentioned in the “Legenda Aurea” as being a song of praise between St Ambrose and St Augustine. In the medieval liturgy, the “Te Deum” was sung as the conclusion of Matins the midnight office, and on ceremonial liturgical occasions. The melody is one of the oldest Gregorian chants. The architecture of the baptistery, with an individual pilaster for each of the figures in the picture, emphasizes the religious dignity of the event.

This scene is on the exterior wall of the Shrine of the Visitation. The Birth of Mary takes place in the presence of several women in a perspectively constructed interior, a bed chamber that is furnished with marble wall paneling and a wooden coffered ceiling.

The next picture occupies the lunette field on the north wall and is as wide as the two pictures beneath it put together. The badly damaged fresco shows the Blessing of the Faithful at Hippo.

In a perspectively constructed church interior St Augustine is blessing the faithful of Hippo kneeling on the left side. On the severely damaged right side, he can still be recognized by his bishop’s miter. The church interior contains numerous references to known works of art from the Early Renaissance. For example, on the door lunette on the left edge of the picture there is a terracotta group in the style of Luca della Robbia.

The little lunette field to the left of the window depicts the Conversion of the Heretic and Manichaeist presbyter Fortunatus. Here St Augustine is depicted as a bishop, though he is wearing the habit of the Augustinian hermits beneath his surplice. The event is described in the “Legenda Aurea” and refers to the many conversions made by St Augustine and his successful battle against heresy.

On the left wall of the Shrine of the Madonna della Tosse the Death of Mary is depicted. The Madonna is laid out on a catafalque behind which the mourners are lined up. In the centre Christ is holding the soul of the dead Mary in his arms. The donor and two young men - probably relatives of the client - are kneeling in front of the death bed. Above the mourners a narrow zone of landscape divides the earthly from the heavenly sphere containing God the Father in a glory of angels.

The Death of St Monica (387) in Ostia is combined with the departure for Carthage in the last picture of the second row. Here the client, Domenico Strambi, has also allowed himself to be immortalized. He is standing on the right next to the death bed, as we are told by the initials in the frame: F D M Paris, Frater Dominicus Magister Parisinus.

This picture field shows the praying St Monica on her deathbed. Above, St Monica appears in a small glory of angels in which her soul is being carried up to heaven. In the background on the right one can, through an open colonnade, see the departure of St Augustine for Numidia.

This picture reflects the influence of the Dominican monk Savonarola, who demanded religious clarity without secular ornamentation. The strict interpretation of the biblical subject matter made it completely impossible to produce a display of magnificence such as in the Medicis’ private chapel. In the scene, which contains many figures, the open view into the background and the gestures of Mary and St John the Evangelist guide us compositionally towards the central theme of the Descent from the Cross. In the background on the right, the dead body of Christ is lying in front of the tomb in the rock, surrounded by a group of mourners.

St Augustine made his journey to Rome in 383. The following frescoes (scenes 4 and 5) show both this scene and his Disembarkation at Ostia. Augustine left his native country as he was disappointed by the fantastical mythology of the Manichaeists and finally abandoned this philosophy.

In this picture it is particularly clear how Benozzo, in contrast to his earlier fresco cycles, chose a close-up composition for his frescoes, particularly in the lower register. This makes it possible for the figures in the foreground to appear as if on a stage. In contrast to the real events, though, Benozzo moved to scene to a typically Tuscan hilly landscape.

This scene is on the exterior wall of the Shrine of the Visitation. The exterior walls depict scenes from the lives of Joachim, Anne and Mary, but only sections have survived. Here the priest standing in the centre of the picture behind the altar is pushing Joachim away from the tabernacle with both hands, for the latter’s sacrifices have been rejected by the priests as he has remained childless. A striking feature is formed by the colourful slabs of marble on the altar.

The altarpiece, to which this panel was once attached as part of the predella was painted for the Compagnia di Santa Maria della Purificazione e di San Zanobi, known as the Compagnia di San Marco, which was affiliated to San Marco in Florence. The contract for the altarpiece is immensely detailed. It was signed by Gozzoli on 23 October 1461 and adumbrates not just the various parts of the altarpiece, but also the artist’s obligations as regards the frame, the gilding, and the quality of the pigments to be used.

The altarpiece was dismembered on the suppression of the confraternity in 1802 and its various elements dispersed. (The predella may have already been detached by this time.) The panel with the Madonna and Child among Saints is now in the National Gallery, London; the scenes from the predella are in the Staatliche Museen in Berlin (St Zanobius Raising a Child from the Dead), the National Gallery of Art in Washington ( The Dance of Salome), The Pinacoteca di Brera in Milan ( St Dominic Raising a Child from the Dead), the Museum of Art, Philadelphia (Purification of the Virgin) and Hampton Court (Fall of Simon Magus), while the right-hand pillar with three saints is in the Galleria dell’Accademia in Florence.

The Fall of Simon Magus is a subject taken from The Golden Legend of Jacobus de Voragine and it involves a contest between a sorcerer at the court of Emperor Nero and Saint Peter. Nero is seen enthroned on the left while Saint peter and Saint Paul are on the right. Simon Magus, endeavouring to prove his magical powers, attempts to launch himself from a wooden tower towards heaven, but even though supported by demons his experiment fails and he falls to the ground.

The last scene showing the Funeral of St Augustine appears in the lunette field on the south wall. The construction of the picture is clearly reminiscent of the Death of St Francis in Montefalco, but because of the open columned loggia in the background it has a more harmonious composition. As in Montefalco, thedead man’s bier is standing in the foreground.

The loggia behind the mourners is a quotation of the Ospedale degli Innocenti (orphanage) which Filippo Brunelleschi started building in Florence in 1419. The orphanage, which is situated in the vicinity of the monastery of San Marco, would certainly have been known by Benozzo, for the innovative columned architecture that the building used soon spread right across Europe. It is all the more astonishing, however, that in this picture pillars instead of columns are supporting the arches, in keeping with a requirement in Leon Battista Alberti’s famous treatise “De Re Aedificatoria” (On Architecture), written in 1451.

A fragment of the Madonna and Child can be seen on the right church wall. The Mother of God is sitting on a cushion in a stone throne niche. She is reverently gazing at the child at her lap, while folding her hands in prayer. The surviving right half of the picture is completed by an angel making music in front of background architecture.

In this composition, Benozzo combined two depictions of the Madonna: the Adoration of the Child and the Enthroned Madonna. The artist’s signature appears on the throne’s pilaster: BENOZII FLORETIA, Benozzo of Florence.

This Madonna and Child among Cherubim and Seraphim has a great force, owing to intense and almost visionary plasticism. It is particularly effective for its combination of sumptuous detail in the clothing, ornamented more in the manner of the goldsmith than of the painter (see the jeweled border of the Virgin’s dress, painted o a slight relief of plaster), with the essential solidity of the brightly coloured angels, sheltered by their numerous wings.

Benozzo went to Rome in 1447 in order to paint - together with Fra Angelico - the Chapel of St Nicholas in the Vatican. Vasari mentions other works by Benozzo Gozzoli during his stay in Rome, which are mostly lost or destroyed. However, the Madonna and Child Giving Blessings, painted on silk, still exists in Santa Maria sopra MInerva.

Benozzo has placed the Madonna standing in frontal view, common in the early Middle Ages, within an architectural framework. The dark blue cloak of the Mother of God is draped across the balustrade, thus creating the impression that she is about to step out of the ciborium. With her left hand she is embracing the Christ Child, who, as a sign of his dominion over the world, is holding a globe in his hand, on which the names of the continents known at that time, ASIA, EVROPIA and AFRICA are written. He is not represented in the form of a child but as an adult in miniature, solemnly dressed in a tunic and red pallium.

After completing the cycle of St Francis, Benozzo painted the first bay in the monastery church’s southern side aisle, known as the Chapel of St Jerome. The main wall shows a painted polyptych, the Madonna and Child surrounded by Saints. This creates the illusion that it continues in the fresco painted above it, as if it were a realistic addition in front of the wall. The curtain and the shadows of the pinnacles and triangular gables make a considerable contribution to creating this impression. Benozzo’s artistic capabilities here reached the highest level of illusion. It addition, it is remarkable that the artist “placed” the Gothic work within a classical framework which he signed OPUS BENOZII DE FLORENZIA.

Above the polyptych Christ on the Cross can be seen surrounded by four angels who are catching the blood dripping from his wounds. On either side below him, St Dominic and St Francis are kneeling on the left side, and St Romuald and St Sylvester on the right. The walls show St Jerome in the desert and the martyrdom of St Sebastian. In the vault the four evangelists appear with their attributes: St Matthew with the angel, St Mark with the lion, St Luke with the ox and St John with the eagle. On the arch separating the nave Christ delivering the blessing is portrayed. The left pilaster shows St Bernardine of Siena and the right one St Catherine of Alexandria.

Above the painted polyptych Christ on the Cross can be seen surrounded by four angels who are catching the blood dripping from his wounds. On either side below him, St Dominic and St Francis are kneeling on the left side, and St Romuald and St Sylvester on the right. The walls show St Jerome in the desert and the martyrdom of St Sebastian. In the vault the four evangelists appear with their attributes: St Matthew with the angel, St Mark with the lion, St Luke with the ox and St John with the eagle. On the arch separating the nave Christ delivering the blessing is portrayed.

Benozzo began his stay in Montefalco (Umbria) in the second half of 1449. There he at first worked in the monastery church of San Fortunato, renovated in 1446, which is situated 1,2 km outside the town on the road to Spoleto. Only fractions now remain of the cycle of frescoes dating from 1450. A lunette fresco of the Madonna and Child between St Francis and St Bernadine of Siena above the entrance portal has survived.

In the Sacra Conversazione, the Mother of God is flanked by St Francis on her left and St Bernardine of Siena on her right. At the height of the Madonna’s shoulders, two worshipping angels are floating in the background. The Christ Child appears to float in her hands. The founder of the Franciscan order, and the Franciscan monk who was canonized in 1450, are both clad in a simple habit with a rope belt.

The painting was executed for the high altar of the church Sant’Andrea in San Gimignano. It has a predella with Christ in the Tomb among Mourners and Saints.

The represented saints are John the Baptist, Mary Magdalene, Augustine and Martha.

The mural paintings of San Francesco in Montefalco, on the whole well preserved and recently restored, provide evidence of Benozzo’s growing sense of personal achievement. From 1450-02 onward the demand for works of art and figurative cycles from Benozzo intensified, and once again his clients were the Franciscans. From this period originates the Madonna and Child with Sts Francis and Bernardine, and Fra Jacopo in Vienna.

The Madonna is resplendent amidst gold, red and pale vair, against a backdrop that appears to be nighttime view of a wood, although checks need to be made to see if there has been any alteration in the pigments or binders of the greens.

The panel painting, complete with side pillars and predella, was commissioned by the bishop of Recanati, Benedetto Guidalotti, who came from Perugia, for the Chapel of St Jerome in Perugia. The Sacra Conversazione combined old and new means of expression: the saints, arranged as mirror images with the Madonna and Christ Child at their centre, are arranged in front of a Gothic-style embossed gold background.

The altarpiece maintains close ties with the Gothic tradition in the stately splendour of the gold background, but the figures bathed in strong light, set firmly in space by virtue of their forceful drapery, are contemporary in style, with the intriguing result that we can now see to be typical of Benozzo’s work in this period.

Benozzo painted one of his highest quality paintings for the high altar of the church of San Fortunato in Montefalco: the Madonna della Cintola, which is now in the Pinacoteca Vaticana. The town of Montefalco presented the painting to Pope Pius IX (1846-1878).

Angels are surrounding Mary in a semi-circle and, as it were, form an aureole in which the arrangement of the angels’ wings matches the points of a crown. The gold background, which in the Middle Ages was used to elevate the depicted scene and give it an unreal, supernatural element, had from the 15th century onwards been replaced by depictions of landscapes and architectural settings. By this time, the gold background was already much rarer in Italian painting and symbolizes the transcendental, divine space, increasing the distance between the saints and the secular world. The subject of Mary lowering her girdle is not mentioned in the Gospels, but in the New Testament Apocrypha, Thomas, one of the 12 apostles, doubted Mary’s Assumption. The Virgin appeared to him and, as proof, gave the doubting apostle her girdle. The theme was particularly popular in Italian, and particularly Tuscan, art during the 15th century, for since 1365 the Madonna’s girdle had been venerated as a relic in the cathedral of Prato. The lowering of the girdle was frequently depicted - another peculiarity of Italian art from the 15th century - in combination with the Assumption of the Virgin.

The pillars at the side of the altar panel contain depictions of saints, Sts Francis, Fortunatus and Anthony of Padua being on the left, Sts Louis of Toulouse, Severus of Montefalco, whose remains are kept in San Fortunato, and Bernadine of Siena are standing on the right side.

The predella contains six scenes relating episodes from the life of Mary. It begins on the left side with the Birth of Mary, continues with her Marriage, the Annunciation, the Birth of Christ and the Presentation in the Temple, and ends with the Death of Mary.

According to the Catholic faith angels already possess the joy of heaven, therefore they are shown expressing that joy the way human do: dancing, singing, and playing musical instruments.

In the centre of the Shrine of the Madonna della Tosse the Madonna breast feeding the Child is depicted. This type of Madonna was common from the late Middle ages onwards. She is surrounded by St Peter with the keys and a book, St Catherine with a broken wheel, St Margaret with a cross, and St Paul with a sword and book. In order to create the impression of a real altarpiece, several angels are holding a curtain around the altar painting. At the bottom edge of the picture, as if placed there quite by chance, Benozzo has painted a small pointed panel painting showing the face of Christ.

Gozzoli painted in San Gimignano another fresco of St Sebastian on the inner entrance wall of the collegiate church of Santa Maria Assunta. The work as commissioned by the city government in February 1465, six months after the plague epidemic.

On this occasion the saint is depicted in accordance with the iconographical tradition of Italian art during the 15th century. The saint provided artist with an opportunity to depict a nude, which is why the theme was particularly popular from the Renaissance onwards. The arrows which his tormentors are pointing at him symbolize a sudden illness. The similarity of a body transfixed with arrows and that of a plague victim makes the choice of Sebastian as a plague saint appear plausible.

Much of the painting was executed by assistants.

This scene is on the interior wall of the Shrine of the Visitation. The meeting at the Golden Gate takes place before the backdrop of a contemporary cityscape. Benozzo has highlighted the two main figures in the centre of the picture by means of the contrast between the group of women quietly standing near to Anne and the group of men in motion behind Joachim.

The represented saints are St Catherine of Alexandria with Sts Bartholomew, Francis and Lucy.

The inscriptions on angels’ haloes praise the new-born child.

In 1659, the Riccardi family bought the Palazzo Medici and undertook some structural changes. This included, in 1689, the building of an exterior flight of stairs leading up to the first floor. For this purpose the entrance to the chapel had to be moved. During the process, two sections of wall were cut out of the south western corner, in the Procession of the Oldest King. After the stairs were finished, the cut out elements were mounted on a corner of the wall projecting into the room. During the course of this, the oldest king’s horse was cut up and mounted on two different segments of the wall. The picture shows the backfill wall with the cut out section of the procession of the old king.

In 1659, the Riccardi family bought the Palazzo Medici and undertook some structural changes. This included, in 1689, the building of an exterior flight of stairs leading up to the first floor. For this purpose the entrance to the chapel had to be moved. During the process, two sections of wall were cut out of the south western corner, in the Procession of the Oldest King. After the stairs were finished, the cut out elements were mounted on a corner of the wall projecting into the room. During the course of this, the oldest king’s horse was cut up and mounted on two different segments of the wall. The picture shows the backfill wall with the cut out section of the procession of the old king.

Behind the mounted Wise Men in ceremonial dress come the young pages and attendants on foot, dressed in costumes of fitting elegance.

The middle king is represented with the features of Emperor John VII Paleologus. For this representation Benozzo based his work on a medallion designed by Pisanello in 1438. However, he made the face younger and replace the traditional and unwieldy Byzantine tiara with a crown resting on a peacock-plumed velvet cap.

The middle king is represented with the features of Emperor John VII Paleologus. For this representation Benozzo based his work on a medallion designed by Pisanello in 1438. However, he made the face younger and replace the traditional and unwieldy Byzantine tiara with a crown resting on a peacock-plumed velvet cap.

The detail shows the head of one of the Emperor’s pages.

Due to their identical physiognomy and their male attire, the three young riders cannot, as has been assumed, be depictions of the three daughters of Piero de’ Medici. In addition, women were excluded from the Procession of the Magi.

The middle king, accompanied by his pages and squires, is gazing upwards while riding through a hilly Tuscan landscape. He may be gazing at the Star of Bethlehem, which was possibly located in the left part of the destroyed entrance wall. The king is considered to be a portrait of Emperor John VII Paleologus. The identification is based on the assumption that the depictions reflect contemporary events. In this case it is thought to be a reference to the Council of Ferrara-Florence, in which the Emperor took part in 1439.

The grouping of the figures, costumes and head types used in the painting of the Medici Chapel are closely derived from the panel painting from 1423 by Gentile da Fabriano which is now in the Uffizi in Florence. A close examination reveals that models exist in Gentile’s famous work for both the apparently very portrait-like features and for the headdresses and crowns. For example, this is true of both the youngest and middle kings. The panel painting was commissioned by the political rivals of the Medicis; the Palla Strozzi family, and it prompted an attempt to take them on in the field of art. The result was the wall paintings in the Medici Chapel, which display a fairytale splendour: garments set with pearls, brocade materials, satin and silk, dresses with gold thread, gem-studded belts and lavishly decorated bridles.

The oldest king has the features of the Patriarch of Constantinople.

The young herald riding before the old king corresponds formally with the figure of the young king on the opposite wall. On the right side of the image a group of supporters or agents of the Medici can be seen, such as Bernardo Giugni, Francesco Sassetti, Agnolo Tani, and perhaps Dietisalvi Neroni and Luca Pitti, who were to become enemies in 1466.

This detail represents members of the Medici family and other Florentines saluting the passing of the procession of the Old King.

This detail represents members of the Medici family and other Florentines saluting the passing of the procession of the Oldest King. In this grouping with portraits, in the vanguard of the oldest king, two more self-portraits of the painter can be identified: the man on the right in the foreground gesturing with his hand and the man in the upper left with the straw hat.

The detail shows young herald riding before the old king.

The detail shows the head of the young herald riding before the old king.

On the right edge of the picture the procession’s vanguard is making an about-turn and with its heavily laden beasts of burden snaking up a slope towards the goal.

The oldest king is closest to the Christ Child on the altarpiece and is followed by the largest procession of pilgrims. His vanguard is made to appear visually longer due to the about-turn that the procession makes. He is wisely and calmly gazing towards the young king on the opposite wall. His long gray full beard shows him to be from the Middle East, for the Florentines of the 15th century, where a smoothly shaved face was the predominant fashion, considered this to be the decisive characteristic of the Orient.

The figure of the old king has been considered to be a portrait of the patriarch of Constantinople. The identification is based on the context in which the paintings were produced: the Council of Ferrara-Florence in 1439. The council, which had at first met in Ferrara, was moved to Florence as Ferrara was not able to provide further financial support or security. It was possible to move the council due to financing provided by the Medicis, in particular Cosimo. Since 1438 he had been the ‘Gonfaloniere della Giustizia’ (Standard-bearer of Justice), the head of the eight priors who together formed the constitutional body. Because of this position, Cosimo was able to prepare for the council and the reception of the dignitaries. One of the results was a decisive financial success, a year of high profits for the Medici bank. In this context, therefore, painting the chapel was also meant to serve as a reminder of the brilliant part Cosimo had played in the affair. The council had not successfully carried out its aims, in the long term the council was to be unsuccessful, however, this had not yet been evident during the 1440s and 1450s. At that time the discussion was continued in Rome and not until 1484, more than 50 years after the frescoes were completed, did the Greek Orthodox Church finally reject the agreement reached in Florence.

The oldest king is closest to the Christ Child on the altarpiece and is followed by the largest procession of pilgrims. His vanguard is made to appear visually longer due to the about-turn that the procession makes. He is wisely and calmly gazing towards the young king on the opposite wall. His long gray full beard shows him to be from the Middle East, for the Florentines of the 15th century, where a smoothly shaved face was the predominant fashion, considered this to be the decisive characteristic of the Orient.

The figure of the old king has been considered to be a portrait of the patriarch of Constantinople. The identification is based on the context in which the paintings were produced: the Council of Ferrara-Florence in 1439. The council, which had at first met in Ferrara, was moved to Florence as Ferrara was not able to provide further financial support or security. It was possible to move the council due to financing provided by the Medicis, in particular Cosimo. Since 1438 he had been the ‘Gonfaloniere della Giustizia’ (Standard-bearer of Justice), the head of the eight priors who together formed the constitutional body. Because of this position, Cosimo was able to prepare for the council and the reception of the dignitaries. One of the results was a decisive financial success, a year of high profits for the Medici bank. In this context, therefore, painting the chapel was also meant to serve as a reminder of the brilliant part Cosimo had played in the affair. The council had not successfully carried out its aims, in the long term the council was to be unsuccessful, however, this had not yet been evident during the 1440s and 1450s. At that time the discussion was continued in Rome and not until 1484, more than 50 years after the frescoes were completed, did the Greek Orthodox Church finally reject the agreement reached in Florence.

Members of the Medici family are portrayed in the youngest king’s retinue. For example, the man riding on a brown mule has been identified as Cosimo de’ Medici (1389-1464). Benozzo Gozzoli placed his own self-portrait among the Medicis. His red cap bears the inscription BENOTII. He is standing behind two youths, who, it is now believed, portray Lorenzo and Giuliano de’ Medici.

Members of the Medici family are portrayed in the youngest king’s retinue. For example, the man riding on a brown mule has been identified as Cosimo de’ Medici (1389-1464). Benozzo Gozzoli placed his own self-portrait among the Medicis. His red cap bears the inscription BENOTII. He is standing behind two youths, who, it is now believed, portray Lorenzo and Giuliano de’ Medici.

Members of the Medici family are portrayed in the youngest king’s retinue. For example, the man riding on a brown mule has been identified as Cosimo de’ Medici (1389-1464). Benozzo Gozzoli placed his own self-portrait among the Medicis. His red cap bears the inscription BENOTII. He is standing behind two youths, who, it is now believed, portray Lorenzo and Giuliano de’ Medici.

So magnificent a procession with so many figures, which in addition was in a family chapel and not in a public church, was ideally suited for incorporating portraits of famous contemporaries. However, the identification of the youngest king as Lorenzo de’ Medici, which can be first proven to have appeared in a travel guide in the late 19th century, is purely a figment of the imagination. Despite the seven spheres of the Medici coat of arms in the oval golden medals on his horse’s bridle, such an identification is impossible due to the age of the depicted man - at the time the work was painted, Lorenzo was not yet ten years old.

So magnificent a procession with so many figures, which in addition was in a family chapel and not in a public church, was ideally suited for incorporating portraits of famous contemporaries. However, the identification of the youngest king as Lorenzo de’ Medici, which can be first proven to have appeared in a travel guide in the late 19th century, is purely a figment of the imagination. Despite the seven spheres of the Medici coat of arms in the oval golden medals on his horse’s bridle, such an identification is impossible due to the age of the depicted man - at the time the work was painted, Lorenzo was not yet ten years old.

The youngest of the Magi was thought to be a likeness of Lorenzo the Magnificent. He is at the head of a cortege which includes Cosimo de’ Medici, Piero the Lame and his brother Giuliano. Lorenzo’s face is characterized by shining eyes, a strong, square jaw and fine mouth. However, it is not probable since at the time the work was created, he was just ten years old.

Most of the figures were painted from live models and given the likeness of Benozzo Gozzoli’s contemporaries. The painter tried to represent as many likeness as possible, often without concern for the actual space taken up by the body; only a few figures enjoy sufficient space.

The artist’s self-portrait is indicated by an inscription BENOTII on his hat.

Most of the figures were painted from live models and given the likeness of Benozzo Gozzoli’s contemporaries. The painter tried to represent as many likeness as possible, often without concern for the actual space taken up by the body; only a few figures enjoy sufficient space.

On the artist’s self-portrait his name is prominently spelled out on his cap. In front, the portrait of the ten-year-old Lorenzo de’ Medici is depicted.

The youngest of the Magi was thought to be a likeness of Lorenzo the Magnificent. He is at the head of a cortege which includes Cosimo de’ Medici, Piero the Lame and his brother Giuliano. Lorenzo’s face is characterized by shining eyes, a strong, square jaw and fine mouth. However, it is not probable since at the time the work was created, he was just ten years old.

The detail shows the portrait of Piero de’ Medici, the donor of the chapel.

The detail shows Piero de’ Medici’s groom, on his doublet is his master’s device: SEMPER.

With a landscape background filling the rest of of the pictorial space, this fresco was designed like contemporary tapestries, a new type of courtly art destined for wealthy patrons.

The fortress, in the style of medieval castles, which appears at the highest point of the picture and is the point from which the king’s pilgrimage has set out, is similar to the Medicis’ country seat in Cafaggiolo. It is interpreted as Jerusalem, where the procession of the magi started. This was where King Herod had instructed the wise men to search for the child.

Behind the youngset king scenes of hunting, one of the noble pleasures of the time, can be seen.

The sequence of pictures begins with the youngest king. On the horizon his retinue is moving down from the mountains. At the highest point is a small medieval fortress, possibly Jerusalem, where the Three Kings first went. However, the architecture of the complex is reminiscent of the Medici villa in Cafaggiolo, which Cosimo de’ Medici commissioned Michelozzo to build in 1451 in the style of a medieval castle.

The young king, who is looking towards the old king on the opposite wall, was thought to be a portrait of Lorenzo de’ Medici. However, it is not probable since at the time the work was created, he was just ten years old. Rather, in these features Gozzoli is repeating a portrait formula which he also uses in other places, especially the angels’ heads. Furthermore it would be unusual to portray a member of the Medici family in so prominent a position. Benozzo was aware that such portraits belonged at the edge, not in the centre of the composition. The portraits of the Medicis can, therefore, be found at the front of the young king’s retinue. At the head of the group, behind king, rides Piero de’ Medici (1416-1469), who commissioned the frescoes.

Benozzo has also immortalized himself in the densely crowded retinue in close proximity to the “familiari”. We know this from the inscription of his name on the red cap. In recent research the two youths in front of Benozzo have been identified as Lorenzo and Giuliano Medici. By having themselves depicted in the procession of the Three Kings, the Medicis were demonstrating both their political and their financial power. They had themselves depicted at the end of the procession, as part of the youngest king’s retinue, and not as part of the retinue of the oldest king, who is nearest their goal.

The picture type of the archangel Raphael and Tobias first appeared in the 15th century. The event depicts a parable of God’s mercy: Tobias, who was sent out on a journey by his blinded father, is being protected and guided by the archangel Raphael. When Tobias washes his feet in a river, he is frightened by a large fish, which he catches and guts on the advice of the angel. The innards prove to be a medicine which he can use to restore his father’s sight.

This panel was commissioned for a Dominican church through Fra Angelico’s intervention.

The first scene shows three events from the saint’s life: on the left the Birth of St Francis, in the centre the Prophecy of the Birth by a Pilgrim and on the right the Homage of the Simple Man. A wall of houses towering up in the centre separates the Birth of St Francis from the other two simultaneous scenes. The first takes place inside a building and is determined by the contrasting appearance of the kneeling, sitting and stooping women who are surrounding the child together with an ox and ass. On the left edge of the picture a woman in a red dress is supporting the saint’s mother. The circular arrangement on the right conveys an intimacy from which the other two women almost seem to be excluded. The vertical and diagonal compositional lines, which are created by the arrangement of the figures and the architecture of the space, meet in the figure of the holy child, which thereby becomes the centre of the composition.

By means of disparities between the spatial and figural scale in the two following scenes, Benozzo creates differing levels of time. Francis’ mother is standing at the top of a flight of steps. with her raised hands she is turning away the holy man who is identified as a pilgrim by his staff and bag. This meeting - chronologically the earliest event - is emphasized by the lines of the sloping roof and floor tiles, which converge compositionally at the mother’s raised hands. It would be difficult to understand this scene if it were not for the explanatory inscription beneath: QUALITER B. F. FUIT DENU(N)TIATUS A XRO I(N) FORMA PEREGRINI QUOD DEBEBAT NASCI SICUT IPS(E) IN STAB(U)LO QUALIT(ER) QUIDA(M) FATUU(S) P(RO)STE®NEBAT B. F. VESTIME(N)TU(M) IN VIA - “How St. Francis was announced by Christ in the form of a pilgrim, and that he, like Christ himself, had to be born in a stable. And how a certain simple man spread his clothes out where St Francis was walking.” It is Christ himself, therefore, who is heralding the birth of St Francis in the form of a pilgrim.

On the right an event from the saint’s youth has been added. The young Francis is walking along the street accompanied by a boy. Though further in the background than the two figures on the steps, the two figures are depicted proportionally larger. In the foreground of the picture on the right, a poorly clad man is kneeling, looking up to the small window in the palazzo. He is laying his cloak at the feet of Francis. The direction in which the beggar is looking and the right hand that the saint has raised to fend him off indicate the real reason for the homage: it is not directed at the smartly dressed, youthful Francis, but the new-born child, who like Christ was born in sparse surroundings. In official descriptions of his life, the birth of Francis is not mentioned. Only the “Vita e Fioretti”, a legend dating from the 14th century which was not included in the official canon of legends about St Francis, describes his birth in a stable. For that reason, this rarely depicted scene is also missing from the cycle of St Francis in Assisi.

The ox and ass, as well as the Prophecy of the Birth by the holy man, are motifs which create direct links with the birth of Christ and the annunciation to Mary. Even at the beginning of the cycle, analogies are already being created between Christ and Francis. With the deviation from the chronological sequence of events in the picture, Gozzoli is achieving a heightening of the tension within the picture.

Benozzo connects the Trial by Fire before the Sultan with another event. The dancing girl from the “Fioretti,” who is shown here between the two main figures in the scene, has been ordered by the Sultan to attempt to seduce the saint, and she later converts. She is used to loosen up the otherwise rather stiff composition, but at the same time also creates a link as regards content between the two groups.

From the throne room of the richly-decorated palace Sultan Melek-el-Kamel and his servants follow the amazing events by which Francis proves God’s protective powers. Only the date palm behind the red brick wall gives an indication of the oriental setting. The architectural elements of the palace and the row of cypresses, however, originate in the architecture of contemporary Italian nobility.

The accompanying inscription reads: Q(UA)NDO SOLDANUS MISITUNA(M) PUELLA(M) AD TE(N)TA(N)DUM B. F. ET IP(S)E I(N)TRAVIT I(N)IGNE(M) ET OMNES EXTUPUERUNT - “How the sultan sent a girl to tempt St Francis, and how he walked through fire and amazed everyone.”

Benozzo connected the small lunette above the window to the Stigmatisation of St Francis on the right south wall. The lunette shows the winged Cross floating over a rock formation. Rays emanate from the Cross surrounded by seraphs; they converge on the bordering picture field and the kneeling saint whose hands are raised. It is the five wounds of Christ that St Francis is receiving. Due to the chosen sequence of the scenes, the stigmatisation is given particular prominence. The rays do not hit the saint directly, as they change their direction while en route.

Receiving the stigmata was the most important event in the life of the saint and happened in 1224 on the mountain of La Verna in Tuscany. Gozzoli has depicted this scene across two wall fields: the direction in which Francis and the sitting monk are looking, as well as the cluster of rays, lead us across to a second picture field above the central lunette of the choir, which is bordered by the window jamb. Here the Crucifix and seraphs appear, surrounded by a shining mandorla.

The inscription reads: QUANDO BEATUS FRA(N)CISCUS IN MO(NTE) ALVERNE RECEPIT STIGMATA YHV XRI - “How St Francis received the wounds of Jesus Christ on the mountain of La Verna.”

The theme of the last fresco is the Death and Ascension of St Francis. He lies on a bier in the foreground as his wounds are tested and witnessed. Behind, the faithful are celebrating the funeral mass. Above the church, in the background, two angels are carrying the soul of St Francis up to heaven in a glory, as confirmed by the inscription: QUANDO BEATUS FRANCISCUS MIGRAVIT EX HAC VITA AD DOMINUM - “How St Francis went from this life to the Lord.”

The analogy between St Francis and Christ in the first scene of the cycle is changed in this concluding picture to become a relationship between the saint and Christ.

The second picture shows St Francis Giving away his Clothes, Vision of the Church Militant and Triumphant, two events from the saint’s youth. What are conspicuous here are the weightings in the construction of the pictorial space. St Francis Giving away his Clothes seems to be pushed to the edge, clamped in between the frame on the left and the central building where the Vision is taking place. The well-dressed supplicant who is not, in contrast with tradition, depicted as a beggar is untypical. There can only have been one reason for taking this unusual approach to the theme: St Francis was not only merciful to the poorest members of society.

The narration of the Vision encompasses two spatially transposed areas of the painting. Due to the repeated use of the vine scroll pattern, the building in the foreground can be recognized as St Francis’ parental home. Francis is lying within, asleep on a bed. As he dreams, Christ appears to him in a crown of clouds. He gazes down on the sleeping man and points to the right at a building decorated with numerous coats of arms and flags bearing the Cross. This is, as the inscription below the picture confirms, the castle which Christ shows the young St Francis in a vision: QUAL(ITER) B. F. DEDIT VESTIMENTUM SUU(M) CUIDA(M) PAU(PER)I MILITI NOCTE VERO SEQUE(N)TI OSTE(N)DIT SIBI XPS MAGNU(M) PALATIU(M) ARMIS MILITARIBUS CUM CRUCIBUS INSIGNITIUM “How St Francis gave his clothes to a poor soldier and Christ, during the following night, showed him a large castle decorated with coats of arms and crosses.”

This scene is, in terms of form and colour, placed in relationship to St Francis Giving away his Clothes, for the rock formation that towers up behind the saint also appears in the background of the castle and presumably continues behind his parents’ house. That makes the pictorial space appear considerably broader. In addition, the colours of St Francis’ horse, his red garment and green cloak are related to the beflagged castle. The interpretation of this connection suggests itself: “Caritas” the saint’s active brotherly love, is one of the three theological virtues and a “pillar” in the castle as a symbol of the heavenly Jerusalem.

The Vision of San Damiano (on the lost stained-glass window) is followed by the Renunciation of Worldly Goods, the last of the scenes from the saint’s youth. The scene takes place before the backdrop of a city.

The saint’s father and his retinue take up two thirds of the foreground. On his left arm he carries his son’s clothes, in the right he is holding his belt. A narrow space separates him from Francis, who is seen by the observer in a frontal view at prayer. A bishop is covering the saint with his pluvial, which indicates the religious nature of the scene, for it was worn by priests and bishops on ceremonial occasions other than Mass. The contrasting depiction of the father and son expresses the dramatic nature of their conflict, supported by the arrangement of two opposing groups of figures: the secular group is in movement, the religious one frozen. The explanatory inscription reads: QUALITER B. F. CORA(M) EPISCOPO ASISII REN(UNTIA)VIT PATRI HEREDITATEM PATERNAM ET O(M)NIA VESTIMENTA ET FEMORALIA PATRI REIECIT - “How St Francis renounces his father’s inheritance before the bishop of Assisi and his father, and throws his upper garment and hose down before his father.”

The last picture in the bottom row shows the Meeting of St Francis and St Dominic. Benozzo starts with the vision of St Dominic in the left half of the picture. Christ is about to hurl three spears - the symbols of pride, unchastity and greed - at the depraved world. Mary is attempting to prevent him by pointing to the meeting taking place between St Dominic and St Francis. The depiction of the saint is derived from the description written by Thomas of Celano in 1228: “Not particularly large in form; small rather than large, he had a not particularly large, round head, a somewhat long and stretched face, a level and low forehead, not particularly large black, pure eyes, dark hair, straight eyebrows, an even, fine and straight nose, upright, small ears, flat temples (…), close, regular and white teeth, narrow and soft lips, a black, not full beard, a slender neck, straight shoulders, short arms, gentle hands, long fingers.”

For the first time in this cycle St Francis bears a tonsure and is dressed in the simple brown habit of a Franciscan, with a cord as a belt. This plain habit clearly distinguishes him from St Dominic, whose habit is a white tunic with a white scapular with a dark cape over it. In contrast with the rather more lavish Dominican attire, St Francis’ simple habit refers to the ideal of poverty to which he dedicated himself for the rest of his life.

The two founders of orders met in Rome, as indicated by the obelisks which appear on the left side of the church. Benozzo places the scene, which according to legend took place in 1215, in front of a church, presumably Old St Peter’s. This scene is not drawn from the legend of St Francis but from the life of St Dominic in the “Legenda Aurea” (Golden Legend).

The accompanying inscription reads: QUANDO BEATA VIRGO OSTE(N)DIT XPO BEATU(M) FRANCISCU(M) ET BEATU(M) DOMINICU(M) PRO REPARATIONE MUNDI - “How the blessed Virgin pointed St Francis and St Dominic out to Christ, for the renewal of the world.” This picture concludes the bottom row of the pictures on the right southern wall.

The sequence of pictures continues on the left north wall in the second row, meaning that the next picture is above the Birth of St Francis. It depicts the Dream of Innocent III and the Confirmation of the Rule by Pope Honorius III, the successor of Innocent III. The depiction of chronologically separate events and two popes in one picture is designed to do justice to the actual historical facts, which were frequently confused by painters who depicted the oral confirmation of the rule by Innocent III as having been a written approval.

A fluted pillar in the centre of the picture divides it into two halves. This method of structuring the surface of the picture has already been seen in the first fresco. The pope’s vision shows a monk hurrying up on the left in order to support the Lateran basilica that is about to collapse. In front of the church a lavish meadow covered with numerous flowers and grasses is spread out. In the fine arts, the legends of St Dominic and St Francis were from time to time confused. Sometimes it is Dominic who has the crucial role of supporting the collapsing Lateran basilica. This depiction appears, for example, in two predella panels by Fra Angelico: in the altar showing the Sacra Conversazione, ¹⁴³⁵⁄₃₆, now in the Museo Diocesano in Cortona, and in the Coronation of Mary, now in the Louvre in Paris.

In addition, Benozzo’s method of depiction here gives us an insight into the modernity of his visual language. When compared to the fresco by Giotto at Assisi, it is noticeable that the latter chose a stronger angle of inclination to express the gap between dream and reality. Benozzo made use of a different solution. He placed the dreaming pope in the rear and St Francis in the front picture plane, and in so doing was making use of a compositional principle that was popular during the Renaissance. The right half of the picture shows the confirmation of the rule taking place inside a palace. The pope has raised his right hand in blessing and in his left is holding an open scroll of parchment which St Francis has grasped at the lower edge. On the scroll the following words can be read: REGULA ET VITA MINORUM FRATRUM H(A)EC E(ST): D(OMI)NI NOSTRI IHESU XRI SANCTUM EVA(N)G(E)L(IUM) (OBSERVARE) - “It is the rule and the life of the Minorites to observe the Gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord.”

In the following scene of The Expulsion of the Devils from Arezzo, the saint drives the devils out of the city. An inscription on the city walls names the place where the event took place: CIVITAS ARETII. It is not, however, identifiable solely by the added sign with the place name, for Benozzo has created a realistic image of Arezzo in his depiction of the church of San Francesco, the baptistery of Santa Maria Assunta, the Palazzo Pretorio, the cathedral of San Donato and the municipal palace. Some of the buildings which stood there during the artist’s life were not built until after the death of St Francis. With this picture of the town, familiar to observers of the time, Benozzo was reminding his contemporaries of the continuing validity of the saint’s authority.

The small-scale landscape is arranged as if seen from above. The two figures in the picture - an older Franciscan monk whose hand is raised in blessing to heaven, and St Francis who is kneeling, deep in prayer - do not blend harmoniously with the landscape but appear to be standing in front of a backdrop. In addition, it becomes noticeable that the landscape and city views are not depicted using a uniform perspective. In this context it is significant that the two figures cover the transition in the picture from city to countryside.

This is another scene in which the artist deviated from the familiar scheme: instead of using an architectural backdrop, he placed the two protagonists in a lavishly painted landscape.

The inscription beneath the picture reads: QUANDO BS.F. EXPULIT DEMO(N)ES DE CIVITATE ARETII DIVINA POTENTIA ET PACIFICAVIT TOTU(M) POPULU(M) - “How St Francis used divine power to drive the devils out of the city of Arezzo and brought peace to the entire population.”

The Preaching to the Birds and Blessing Montefalco took place in Umbria. The precise topographical description of the places is noticeable. In the middle distance a view of the Umbrian town of Bevagna can be seen, near to which the preaching to the birds is supposed to have taken place. The mighty Monte Subasio, with a little church half way up, and a view of the town of Assisi, form the background. In the background on the left, at the foot of the table mountain, lies Assisi with the fortress and magnificent monastery church of San Francesco that was not built until after St Francis’ death. The topography of the cities is also in accordance with reality: Assisi lies to the north west of Montefalco.

The preaching Francis is pointing upwards to indicate that he is speaking about God. The 13 different kinds of birds, including a hoopoe, a swan, a thrush, a magpie, a pheasant and a dove, underline by their exceptional, unnatural gathering the godliness of the conversation.

Almost in the centre of the picture, the saint and his companion appear simultaneously a second time. The two scenes are compositionally separated by the two figures which are seen standing in profile. Not until they reach the background do the two landscapes meet. Various chronological levels become evident in the conscious division of the pictorial space. On the wall the city coat of arms of Montefalco appears.

Before St Francis, four men are reverently kneeling. The one in the front is wearing a Franciscan habit and a cap bearing the inscription M. MARCUS. He is holding a bishop’s miter in his hands. This might be the “Master Marcus” who towards the end of the 14th century was the bishop of Sarsina and later of Marsico Nuovo. Fra Jacopo, who commissioned the work, is the second kneeling Franciscan. The other people are presumably members of the Calvi family, which in the 15th century acted on several occasions as donors for the church of San Francesco in Montefalco.

The inscription beneath the picture describes what is taking place: QUANDO B. F. PR(A)EDICAVIT AUIBUS APUD MEUANEUM DEMU(M) BENEDIXIT MO(N)TEM FALONE(M) ET P(O)PULU(M) - “How St. Francis preached to the birds and then blessed Montefalco and the population.”

The second row concludes with the Death of the Knight of Celano. It depicts the extensive interior of a private residence which is furnished with a wooden coffered ceiling and a tiled floor. In the centre of the picture a pillared walkway divides the room into two areas. The left half of the picture is missing considerable sections of paint. The depiction of a person sitting at a table has been almost totally destroyed. Nonetheless, the remaining fragments make it possible to identify him. He must be a Franciscan monk, for the lower part of his monastic attire is still visible.

The picture combines three scenes: in the left half of a pillared hall with two aisles and a coffered ceiling, St. Francis is prophesying the Knight of Celano’s imminent death and begging him to make his confession. The events continue chronologically on the right of the picture. The nobleman’s confession to the Franciscan monk is followed in the background by his sudden death.

The inscription reads: QUANDO BS. F. FUIT INVITATUS AD PRANDIUM A COMITE DE CELANO ET TU(N)C B. F. PR(A)EDIXIT SUAM MORTEM - “How St Francis was invited to a meal by the knight of Celano, whose death was prophesied by St Francis.”

The concluding four pictures start in the third row of the right north wall. The picture fields become narrower towards the top, as they are the lunettes of the individual walls. For this reason, and because of the greater distance from the viewer, Benozzo only depicts one event in each picture in the upper row. There is, however, one exception: the stigmatisation takes place in two picture fields. In this way, Benozzo honours St Francis of Assisi as the most important of the saints bearing the stigmata.

The picture shows the birth of Christ being celebrated in the monastery of Greccio. St Francis, who is kneeling in the foreground inside a church, is lovingly cradling the crib figure of the Christ Child in his arms, thus bringing it to life. The faithful who have gathered to celebrate mass notice the miracle and are gazing in reverence and astonishment at the scene.

The Establishment of the Manger at Greccio, probably the most impressive picture in the cycle, takes place in a church interior that is constructed according to the laws of central perspective. The vanishing point lies behind the third pilaster in the rear wall. The perspective, therefore, is not used in the sense of a “symbolic form”, according to which the central motif of the picture - the spiritual closeness of the saint and the Christ Child - would have to appear at the vanishing point. The motionless figures of the faithful and St Francis and the animals resting in the stable in Bethlehem support the static composition of the picture and give the event an air of sacred solemnity. The architecture of the church interior is composed of two different stylistic epochs: the tracery windows and pointed arches are Gothic architectural forms, while the fluted pilasters, straight cornices and oculus windows are architectural elements typical of the Early Renaissance.

The legend of St Francis written by St Bonaventure tells us about the Christmas celebrations in Greccio. It has been shown that Greccio, which lies a little beyond the southern border of Umbria, near Rieti in northern Latium, was the first place where a manger was set up.

The inscription added beneath the picture reads: QUANDO BS. F. FECIT REPRESENTATIONEM NATIVITATIS ET AP(P)ARVIT SIBI CHRISTUS IN BRACHIIS - “How St. Francis arranged for a representation of Christmas and the Christ Child appeared in his arms.”

On the right of scene 7 the blessing of Montefalco is visible, which is derived from local tradition and is not mentioned in any legend about St Francis. The man kneeling in front of St Francis and wearing a cap with the inscription M. MARCUS could be “Master Marcus”. The second Franciscan monk is Fra Jacopo who commissioned the work. The other people are presumably members of the Calvi family, which during the 15th century made several donations to the church of San Francesco in Montefalco.

This view shows the left-hand (north) wall of the chapel with six scenes from the life of St Francis.

This view shows the right-hand (south) wall of the chapel with six scenes from the life of St Francis.

The fresco showing the Scenes with St Ambrose depicts St Augustine hearing the bishop preaching in Milan. Here, too, St Augustine is depicted twice: on the left he is talking with the seated St Ambrose. On the right side St Augustine has taken his seat at the edge of the picture before a niche. At this point the fresco is unfortunately severely damaged. The two scenes are clearly separated from each other by the construction of the picture. The preaching of St Ambrose made it possible for St Augustine to overcome the Manichaeist criticism of the Bible by means of allegorical biblical exegesis and Neoplatonic intellectuality. St Ambrose caused Augustine finally to convert to Christianity.

The cycle depicts 17 scenes from the life of St Augustine. The pictures, which are arranged in three rows, use the traditional horizontal direction of reading, from the bottom left to the top right.

The cycle of St Francis in Montefalco contains a total of 19 episodes from the life and work of the saint, arranged in a total of 12 pictures and a lost stained glass window. The cycle of pictures extends above the choir stalls along the five walls of the apsidal chapel, in three rows arranged one above the other. In contrast with tradition, they should be read starting with the bottom row, though in the usual manner from left (north wall) to right (south wall). The cycle then continues in the middle row and finishes in the lunettes. In this way, Benozzo was illustrating St Francis’ path to salvation from earthly life to heavenly glory, which is depicted in the vault where St Francis is enthroned in glory with angels on either side. In the five spandrels he is surrounded by the most important saints of the Franciscan order.

23 medals decorate the narrow strip of wall between the frescoes and the choir stalls. On the north and south walls, in a kind of family tree, 20 Franciscan monks are depicted. The three medals on the short strip of wall beneath the window show portraits of three famous Florentines: Dante, Giotto and Petrarch.

Painted on the pilasters right and left behind the choir arch are two angels holding banderoles. In addition to the client’s name, the Minorite brother Fra Jacopo of Montefalco, there also appears the signature “Benotius Florentinus” and the date of origin, 1452.

Two monumental shrines, of proportions similar to those of true chapels were frescoed by Benozzo Gozzoli at Castelfiorentino, on the initiative of a single client, Ser Grazia di Francesco, prior of Santa Maria at Castelnuovo Val d’Elsa: the Shrine of the Madonna della Tosse, and the Shrine of the Visitation. Among the assistants who were given the job of translating the master’s ideas into painting was probably his son Francesco.

The Shrine of the Madonna della Tosse originally stood on the road between Castelfiorentino and Castelnuovo Val d’Elsa. In 1853 a Neo-Gothic chapel was built around it in order to transform it into an oratory, however, this was not sufficient to arrest the deterioration of the murals. Detached and restored in 1970, they have been remounted in the Biblioteca Comunale.

The focal point is formed by a wall fresco which creates the illusion of a lavishly framed altar painting with a predella. In order to support the illusion, Gozzoli painted a small pointed picture on the lower frame showing the face of Christ, just as if it had been added at a later stage in the manner of a votive picture.

On the cross vault are depicted the four Evangelists and Christ Giving his Blessing, on the keystone. The Dormitio Virginis is on the left wall and the Assumption, with the delivery of the Virgin’s girdle to St Thomas, on the right wall.

The fading or even complete disappearance of the more fragile zones of colour has greatly impoverished the scenes, in which Benozzo has sought variety within symmetry, emphasizing the correspondences between the two wall scenes.