Cappella Nicolina
In the TOWER OF INNOCENT III of the Counts of Segni
(1198/1216)
Rediscovered in 1721 when it was added the altarpiece “Stoning of
St. Stephen” by Giorgio Vasari
(1511/74)
Extremely important cycle of frescoes:
In the vault:
Pilasters at the side
of the altar:
“St. Athanasius”, “St. Leo
the Great”, “St.
Gregory the Great” and “St. Chrysostom”
Pilasters at the side
of the door:
“St. Thomas Aquinas”, “St.
Ambrose”, “St.
Augustine” and “St. Bonaventure”
On three walls:
“Stories of
the protomartyrs Sts. Stephen and Lawrence” 1448/50
masterpiece by Fra' Giovanni da Fiesole aka Fra
Angelico (about 1395/1455) for Nicholas V Parentucelli (1447/55)
finished with the assistance of Benozzo di Lese aka Benozzo
Gozzoli (1420/97 )
The six scenes from
the life of St. Stephen are in the lunettes at the top:
“St. Stephen led to torture”
“Stoning of St. Stephen”
The five scenes from
the life of St. Lawrence are in rectangular panels at the bottom:
The Dominican monk Giovanni da Fiesole aka Fra Angelico is
known as Beato Angelico (Blessed Angelic) in Italian and he was actually
proclaimed blessed only by Pope John Paul II in 1984. However he was described
as “Beato” soon after his death both for the emotional devoutness of his
paintings, and for his human qualities
In his work he conjugated aspects of medieval art such as
the importance of education in art or the mystical use of light with new
Renaissance instances such as the careful use of perspective or the emphasis on
human figures
His influence will be felt by his collaborator Benozzo
Gozzoli and by Filippo Lippi. With his use of light he paved the way for the
great masters Piero Della Francesca and Melozzo da Forlì
“Influenced by the Roman environment and of course also from
the direct vision of the ancient monuments, Fra Angelico's style acquired a
brand new appearance dignified, majestic and classic. The simple Florentine
narration leaves the field to noble rhetorical oratory, the figures become
firmer and monumental, reconnecting to the solemn Masaccio's Tribute; natural
landscape is replaced by grandiose architectural plants, rich in classical
allusions. Behind the mask of the vicissitudes of life and martyrdom of the
saints is in fact the celebration of this papacy, self-proclaimed heir to the
greatness of Ancient Rome” (Carlo Bertelli, Giuliano Briganti, Antonio
Giuliano)
“The humanist pope would not have called Fra Angelico if he
had not recognized him as the great exponent of religious humanism. Angelico
wants to show that a fact is historical when it contains a deep conceptual
meaning. St. Lawrence giving Church property to the poor is a historical fact
that, as an exhortation to charity, may also have a moral significance, but it
also has a conceptual meaning because material goods given are the grace that
the Church distributes in the whole mystical body of the Christian community.
The Church is represented by the deep perspective aisle and the community of
the faithful or the mystical body of the poor, decent as ancient characters”
(Giulio Carlo Argan)
“In the use of light, however, Fra Angelico's technique is at
its finest: pervading the entire surface of the painting light manages to
instill a deep sense of unity to the scenes. The bright light mystically
understood ends up being almost emanation of the divine and manages to optimize
colors that shine also for the use of gold” (Andrea Pomella)
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