Painted glories
Subtitle: the Brancacci Chapel in Renaissance Florence
By: Nicholas A. Eckstein
Publisher: Yale University Press, New Haven.
Published: 2014
Language: eng
Number of pages: 282
ISBN-13: 9780300187663
Subjects: Italian Mural painting and decoration; History; Art and society; Cappella Brancacci (Santa Maria del Carmine (Church : Florence, Italy)); Christian art and symbolism; Carmelites; Renaissance Mural painting and decoration; Art patronage
Other titles: Brancacci Chapel in Renaissance Florence
Description: "In 1440, on the feast of Saints Peter and Paul, Florence unexpectedly defeated Milanese forces near the town of Anghiari in eastern Tuscany. Nicholas A. Eckstein reveals the impact of this celebrated victory on Florentine public life and how it could have triggered the custodians of the Brancacci Chapel, the Carmelite friars, to seek the completion of frescoes by Masolino (1383-1447) and Masaccio (1401-1428). Today, tens of thousands of people visit the Brancacci Chapel annually to gaze at the brilliant frescoes of Saint Peter's life. Universally recognized as a canonical masterpiece of the Florentine Renaissance, these glowing murals span the interior in long panels. The first serious examination to position the frescoes at the heart of Tuscan society and culture, Painted Glories teems with fascinating characters and intrigue. In swiftly paced prose, Eckstein explores the chapel's history, medieval culture, and art patronage, progressively peeling back the story's layers amid the tumultuous politics of the 15th-century Florentine state"--
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 261-273) and index.
Table of contents: title: Felice's Church. The Carmelites ; Inside the Carmine ; The Brancacci; title: Masolino, Masaccio and the Carmine's Community of Artists; title: The Frescoes : a Lay Reading; title: The Devout Ladies of the Madonna del Popolo : the Brancacci Chapel and Lay Female Piety at Santa Maria del Carmine; title: The Blessed Andrea, Saint Peter and the Miracle of Anghiari : a New Context for the Brancacci Chapel Frescoes.