Detail View: ADJUNCT MODULE A: ITALIAN ART: Magi Chapel Frescoes
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Collection:
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ADJUNCT MODULE A: ITALIAN ART
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Preferred Title:
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Magi Chapel Frescoes
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Image View:
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Procession of the Magi, south wall; figure of the middle king, Balthasar, in green, a dark-skinned man of mature years
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Creator:
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Benozzo Gozzoli (Italian painter, ca. 1421-1497)
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Location:
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repository: Palazzo Medici-Riccardi (Florence, Tuscany, Italy)
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Location Note:
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Via Camillo Cavour, 3
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GPS:
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+43.7752+11.255429
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Date:
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ca. 1459-1461 (creation)
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Cultural Context:
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Italian
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Style Period:
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Renaissance
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Work Type 1:
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fresco (painting)
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Classification:
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painting
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Material:
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pigment on plaster; gilding
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Technique:
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fresco painting (technique); gilding (technique)
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Description:
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In 1459 Gozzoli began to fresco the chapel for Piero de’ Medici, which already contained the altarpiece of the Adoration of the Child by Filippo Lippi (now replaced by a copy by his workshop), and featured a painted and gilded carved wooden ceiling and a splendid inlaid floor of ancient marble. The chapel is composed of two square rooms, one larger and one smaller. The latter, known as the scarsella contains the altar, and has two small sacristies at the sides. The tapestry-like decorative scheme was conceived in close thematic and figurative relation with the altarpiece of the Adoration of the Child; the events of the Nativity. The Medici family were patrons of the Confraternita dei Magi which had its headquarters in the nearby convent of San Marco. Losses were incurred with renovations to the rooms; the chapel was restored in 1988-1992. (Source: Palazzo Medici-Riccardi [website]; http://www.palazzo-medici.it/)
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Image Description:
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The Magi trio effectively symbolizes the three ages of man, the times of the day (dawn, midday, sunset), the parts of the world (those then known, Europe, Africa and Asia) and the phases of time (past, present and future). As well as this, the colours (red, green and white) in which the three kings are dressed may allude to the Medici emblems.
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Collection:
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Adjunct Module A: Italian Art
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Identifier:
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7A1-GOZZ-JMB-B04
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Rights:
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© Scott Gilchrist, Archivision, Inc.
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