The Chapel of Brancacci is a chapel in the church of St. Mary del Carmine, which is located in Florence. This chapel is widely known for its beautiful biblical frescoes painted in the art style of the early Renaissance. This unique chapel, its history and famous frescoes will be described in this essay.
Capella History
The Church of St. Maria del Carmine, in which the Brancacci Chapel is located, does not have a luxurious facade, like many churches in Florence. However, inside it is hidden the real pearl of wall painting. The story of its appearance dates back to 1367, when Piero Brancacci ordered the creation of a family chapel in the Carmine temple, which was under construction since 1268. Later, the created masterpiece became not only a family chapel, but also played a large role in the life of Florentine society, which was very pious. In it was the most famous and especially revered by the Florentines icon "St. Madonna del Popolo ", which was written written at the beginning of the XIII century.
Frescoes of the chapel
The frescoes of the chapel of Brancacci owe their appearance to Felice Brancacci. Felice was a descendant of the founder of the chapel and was a rather influential statesman of Florence. In addition, he was a rival to Cosimo Medici (Elder), who was also involved in politics.
In about 1422, Brancacci ordered the artists Masaccio and Masolino to make murals in his family chapel in the church of Carmine. The chapel was in the right transept (transverse nave) of the church.
In 1423, Masolino set to work and carried out the first stage of art painting. He created murals of lunettes (part of the wall bounded by a semicircle), which, unfortunately, have not survived to date. He also painted the vault of the Brancacci Chapel, and after that left Florence.
Continuation of painting
In mid-1427, Masolino returned and resumed his work on the chapel. It is assumed that his partner Masaccio during the absence of Masolino painted the chapel, 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 chapel of Brancacci by Masaccio and Masolino was interrupted. In 1735, Cosimo Medici himself imprisoned the customer himself in prison near the city of Kapodistrias (Slovenia) for a 10-year term. In addition, Felice Brancacci was declared a rebel, in connection with which all his property was confiscated.
Shutdown
Only in 1480, the artist Filippino Lippi continued painting the fresco of the chapel of Brancacci, Masaccio and Masolino no longer worked on it. Thanks to the painstaking work of Lippi on the frescoes, it turned out to preserve the style of the previous masters. There is a legend that Lippi wanted to become an artist after he saw murals in this chapel as a child.
The chapel was owned by the Brancacci clan for more than 400 years, until August 1780, when the influential Marquis of Ricordi entered into an agreement to buy back the patronage of the chapel. The frescoes were repeatedly restored; the first restoration took place in the XVIII 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-winged window), which was located behind the altar, and the entrance arch were reconstructed. The arch leading to the chapel was converted from arrow-shaped to semicircular. According to eyewitnesses, the chapel and the church itself used to be closer to the Gothic style.
Description of the frescoes
The subject of frescoes, at the request of the customer, mainly related to 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 was lost. Under the frescoes is a panel that simulates marble cladding.
So far, 12 scenes have been saved, half of which were created by Masaccio almost completely or with the help of Masolino. A series of frescoes begins with the Fall, followed by The Expulsion from Paradise. They continue the series of frescoes “The Miracle with a Satyr” (on which, presumably, the artists depicted their customer), then the works that are called:
- "The sermon of Peter to 3 thousand";
- "Baptism by Peter of the neophytes";
- "Healing by Peter crippled";
- "The Resurrection of Tafiva";
- “Resurrection of the son of Theophilus”;
- "The Crucifixion of Peter and the argument of Peter with Simon Magus";
and:
- "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 the time. The frescoes of the Brancacci Chapel in Florence were one of the first such pictorial innovations. They literally shocked people who had not seen anything like it before.
