Italian painter (c. 1421?1497)
Benozzo Gozzoli
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Self-portrait from fresco
Procession of the Magi
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Born
| Benozzo di Lese
c.
1421
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Died
| 4 October 1497
(1497-10-04)
(aged 75?76)
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Nationality
| Florentine
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Known for
| Painting
,
fresco
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Movement
| Early Renaissance
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Benozzo Gozzoli
(
pronounced
[be?n?ttso
???ddzoli,
?
???ttsoli]
; born
Benozzo di Lese
;
[a]
c.
1421
– 4 October 1497) was an Italian
Renaissance
painter from
Florence
. A pupil of
Fra Angelico
, Gozzoli is best known for a series of murals in the
Magi Chapel
of the
Palazzo Medici-Riccardi
, depicting festive, vibrant processions with fine attention to detail and a pronounced
International Gothic
influence. The chapel's
fresco
cycle reveals a new
Renaissance
interest in nature with its realistic depiction of landscapes and vivid human portraits. Gozzoli is considered one of the most prolific fresco
painters
of his generation. While he was mainly active in
Tuscany
, he also worked in
Umbria
and
Rome
.
[1]
Biography
[
edit
]
Apprenticeship
[
edit
]
Gozzoli was born Benozzo di Lese,
[a]
son of a tailor, in the village of
Sant'Ilario a Colombano
around 1421. His family moved to nearby
Florence
in 1427. According to the 16th century Italian biographer
Giorgio Vasari
, Gozzoli was a pupil and assistant of
Fra Angelico
in the early part of his career.
Gozzoli assisted Angelico in the execution of fresco decorations in the dormitory cells of the
Convent of San Marco
in Florence. Established contributions here include
The Adoration of the Magi
in
Cosimo de' Medici's cell
and the
Women at the Tomb
in a larger depiction of the
Resurrection of Christ
in cell 8. Like many other Early Renaissance painters, Benozzo was initially trained as a goldsmith as well as a painter.
Between 1444 and 1447, he was therefore able to collaborate with
Lorenzo Ghiberti
on the famous
Gates of Paradise
of the
Florence Baptistery
.
On 23 May 1447, Benozzo was with
Fra Angelico
in
Rome
, to where they were called by
Pope Eugene IV
to carry out fresco decorations in a chapel in the
Vatican Palace
. This chapel was later demolished, so nothing of these works remains. He then accompanied Angelico to
Umbria
, where they decorated
a chapel vault
in the
Orvieto Cathedral
.
Due to political complications in the city, they completed only two of the four vault webs and were again summoned to the Vatican, where the pair worked for
Nicholas V
in the
Niccoline Chapel
until June 1448. Gozzoli is assumed to have made significant contributions in
the chapel's frescoes
. Furthermore, the attribution of a 1449
Madonna and Child
Giving Blessings
in the church of
Santa Maria sopra Minerva
is disputed between Gozzoli and Fra Angelico. In Rome, Gozzoli also executed a fresco of
St Anthony of Padua
in the
Basilica of Santa Maria in Aracoeli
.
[
citation needed
]
Both Fra Angelico and Lorenzo Ghiberti were to influence much of Gozzoli's work for the rest of his life. From Ghiberti he learned precision in depicting the finest details and how to illustrate a story vividly, while from Fra Angelico, he took his bright color palette, transferring it to the art of fresco painting.
[2]
In Umbria
[
edit
]
In 1449, Gozzoli left Angelico and moved to Umbria. In the hilltown of
Narni
there is an
Annunciation
from 1450, signed OPU[S] BENOT[I] DE FLORENT[IA]. In the monastery of San Fortunato, near
Montefalco
, Gozzoli painted a
Madonna and Child between St. Francis and St. Bernardine of Siena
, and three other works. One of these, the altarpiece
Madonna of the Girdle
, is now in the
Vatican Museums
and shows the affinity of Benozzo's early style to Angelico's.
In 1450, Gozzoli received his first major independent commission from the monastery of S. Francesco in Montefalco. There, he filled the choir chapel with three registers of episodes from the life of
St Francis of Assisi
and various accessories, including portrait heads of
Dante
,
Petrarch
and
Giotto
. These
works
were completed in 1452, and are still marked by the style of Angelico, crossed here and there with a more distinctly
Giottesque
influence.
[3]
In the same church, in the chapel of
Saint Jerome
, there is a fresco by Gozzoli of the
Virgin and Saints
, the
Crucifixion
and other subjects.
Gozzoli probably remained at Montefalco (with an interval at
Viterbo
) until 1456, employing
Pier Antonio Mezzastris
as an assistant. Then, he went to
Perugia
and painted a
Virgin and Saints
that is now in the local academy.
Return to Florence
[
edit
]
That same year, Benozzo returned to his native city Florence, the epicenter of
Quattrocento
art. Between 1459 and 1461, Gozzoli painted what may be considered his most important works, the frescoes in the
Magi Chapel
of the
Palazzo Medici-Riccardi
. There, in his
Journey of the Magi to Bethlehem
and
Angels in Adoration
, he mastered a combination of complexity and subtlety, portraying a wealthy scene that encompasses realistic depictions of nature and vivid human portraits. In his
Journey of the Magi
, Gozzoli incorporated numerous portraits of his
Medici
patrons, their allies and prominent contemporary figures. Furthermore, he also included his self-portrait in the procession, with his name written around the rim of his cap.
His frescoes in the Magi Chapel brought Gozzoli a great amount of fame and ensured him of new important commissions. One of these was an altarpiece for the Confraternity of the Purification in Florence, originally housed in the Convent of San Marco. The
Virgin and Child Enthroned among Angels and Saints
that he produced between 1461 and 1462 for this occasion now houses in the
National Gallery, London
.
[4]
Late years in Tuscany
[
edit
]
San Gimignano
[
edit
]
In 1463, likely in fear of the plague, Gozzoli left Florence for
San Gimignano
, where he executed some extensive works. Most prominent of these is his seventeen-panel
fresco
cycle on
The Life of
St Augustine
, covering the entire apsidal chapel in the church of
Sant'Agostino
.
[5]
In that same church Gozzoli also completed a composition of
St. Sebastian Protecting the City from the Plague
, in which he depicted
St. Sebastian
fully clothed and unhurt, thereby going against iconographic canon. In 1465, at the town's heart in the
Collegiate Church of Santa Maria Assunta
, Gozzoli furthermore painted a fresco of the
Martyrdom of Sebastian
. He stayed in San Gimignano until 1467, completing some further works in the city and its vicinity.
Pisa
[
edit
]
In 1469, Gozzoli moved to Pisa and began working on his most extensive commission: the vast series of mural paintings in the
Campo Santo
edifice of
Pisa
. There, he depicted twenty-four subjects from the
Old Testament
, ranging from the
Invention of Wine by Noah
to the
Visit of the
Queen of Sheba
to
Solomon
. He was contracted to paint three subjects per year for about ten ducats each. It appears, however, that this contract was not strictly adhered to, for the actual rate of painting was only three pictures in two years. Perhaps the great multitude of figures and accessories was accepted as a set-off against the slower rate of production.
By January 1470 he had executed the fresco of
Noah and his Family
, followed by the
Curse of Ham
, the
Building of the
Tower of Babel
(which contains portraits of
Cosimo de' Medici
, the young
Lorenzo
,
Angelo Poliziano
and others), the
Destruction of
Sodom
, the
Victory of Abraham
, the
Marriages of Rebecca and of Rachel
, the
Life of Moses
, etc. In the Cappella Ammannati, facing a gate of the Campo Santo, he also painted an
Adoration of the Magi
, wherein appears a portrait of himself.
All this enormous mass of work, in which Benozzo was probably assisted by
Zanobi Machiavelli
, was performed, in addition to several other pictures during his stay in Pisa (including the
Glory of
St. Thomas Aquinas
, now in the Louvre), in sixteen years, lasting up to 1485. This is the latest date which can with certainty be assigned to any work from his hand. Gozzoli died in
Pistoia
in 1497, perhaps of a pestilence.
In 1478, as a token of their regard, the Pisan authorities had given him a tomb in the Campo Santo. He likewise had a house of his own in Pisa, and houses and land in Florence.
[4]
Trivia
[
edit
]
- The painters Francesco, Gerolamo, and
Alesso di Benozzo
were his sons and assisted him on various commissions.
- The
Master of the Small Figures
identified by
Longhi
is the same painter called
Alunno di Benozzo
(pupil of Benozzo) by
Berenson
. The name is based on stylistic grounds.
[6]
Works
[
edit
]
- Women at the Tomb
(1440?1441) ?
Fresco,
San Marco
, Florence
- Adoration of the Magi
(1440?1441) ?
Fresco,
San Marco
, Florence
- Gates of Paradise
(1444?1447, collaboration) ?
Gilded bronze doors,
Museo dell'Opera del Duomo
, Florence
- Chapel of the Madonna di San Brizio
(1447, collaboration) ?
Fresco,
Orvieto Cathedral
,
Orvieto
- Niccoline Chapel
(1447?1449, collaboration) ?
Fresco,
Apostolic Palace
,
Vatican City
- The Virgin and Child with Angels
(1447?1450) ?
Tempera on wood, 29.2 x 21.6 cm,
National Gallery
,
London
- Madonna and Child Giving Blessings
(1449) ?
Tempera on silk on a wooden mount, 254 x 130 cm,
Santa Maria sopra Minerva
,
Rome
- St. Anthony of Padua
(1450) ?
Panel,
Santa Maria in Aracoeli
, Rome
- Madonna and Child between St Francis and St Bernardine of Siena
(1450) ?
Fresco, San Fortunato,
Montefalco
- St Fortunatus Enthroned
(1450) ?
Fresco, 200 x 110 cm, San Fortunato, Montefalco
- Madonna and Child
(1450) ?
Fresco, 250 x 135 cm, San Fortunato, Montefalco
- Madonna of the Girdle
(1450?1452) ?
Tempera on panel, 133 x 164 cm,
Pinacoteca Vaticana
, Vatican City
- Madonna and Child Surrounded by Saints
(1452) ?
Fresco, Cappella di San Gerolamo, San Francesco, Montefalco
- The Departure of St Jerome from Antioch
(1452) ?
Fresco, Cappella di San Gerolamo, San Francesco, Montefalco
- St Jerome Pulling a Thorn from a Lion's Paw
(1452) ?
Fresco, Cappella di San Gerolamo, San Francesco, Montefalco
- Madonna and Child with Sts Francis and Bernardine, and Fra Jacopo
(
c.
1452
) ?
Tempera on panel, 34 x 54 cm,
Kunsthistorisches Museum
,
Vienna
- Madonna and Child with Sts John the Baptist, Peter, Jerome, and Paul
(1456) ?
Tempera on panel, 122 x 212 cm,
Galleria Nazionale dell'Umbria
,
Perugia
- Procession of the Magi
(1459?1460) ?
Frescoes,
Magi Chapel
,
Palazzo Medici Riccardi
, Florence
- Madonna and Child
(
c.
1460
) ?
Tempera on panel, 84.8 x 50.6 cm,
Detroit Institute of Arts
,
Detroit
- The Virgin and Child Enthroned among Angels and Saints
(1461?1462) ?
Tempera on panel, 161.9 x 170.2 cm, National Gallery, London
- St. Dominic Reuscitates Napoleone Orsini
(1461) ?
Tempera on panel, 25 x 35 cm,
Pinacoteca di Brera
,
Milan
- Fall of Simon Magus
(1461?1462) ?
Tempera on panel, 24 x 35,5 cm,
Royal Collection
,
Hampton Court Palace
, London
- The Dance of Salome
(1461?1462) ?
Tempera on panel, 23.8 x 34.3 cm,
National Gallery of Art
,
Washington, D.C.
- Histories of St. Augustine
(1464?1465) ?
Frescoes,
Sant'Agostino
,
San Gimignano
- Four Evangelists
(1464?1465) ?
Fresco, Sant'Agostino, San Gimignano
- Saints
(1464?1465) ?
Frescoes, Sant'Agostino, San Gimignano
- St. Sebastian Intercessor
(1464?1466) ?
Fresco, 527 x 248 cm, Sant'Agostino, San Gimignano
- Martyrdom of St Sebastian
(1465) ?
Tempera on panel, 525 x 378 cm,
Collegiate Church
, San Gimignano
- Mystical Marriage of St. Catherine
(1466) ?
Tempera on panel, 90 x 50 cm, Palazzo Gazzoli, Pinacoteca Comunale,
Terni
- Madonna and Child between Sts. Andrew and Prosper
(
Madonna dell'Umilta
; 1466) ?
Tempera on panel, 137 x 138 cm, Museo Civico, San Gimignano
- Triumph of St. Thomas Aquinas
(1471) ?
Tempera on panel, 230 x 102 cm,
Louvre
,
Paris
- The Vintage and Drunkenness of Noah
(1469?1484) ?
Fresco,
Campo Santo
,
Pisa
- Histories of the Holy Virgin
, Tabernacle with the
Madonna della Tosse
(1484) ?
Transferred frescoes
, Museo Benozzo Gozzoli di
Castelfiorentino
- Deposition of Christ
(1491) ?
Also called
Descent from the Cross
. Oil on canvas, 180 x 300 cm,
Museo Horne
, Florence.
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
The nickname
Gozzoli
does not appear in any documents;
Giorgio Vasari
recorded it in his second edition of the
Vite
(1568).
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Ailsa Turner. "Gozzoli, Benozzo." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press. Web. 7 June 2016
- ^
"Benozzo Gozzoli Biography"
.
Olga's Gallery
. Retrieved
November 9,
2017
.
- ^
History of the chapel of the Choir of San Francesco, and its frescoes
Archived
2016-03-04 at the
Wayback Machine
with depictions and descriptions of all the scenes.
- ^
a
b
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the
public domain
:
Rossetti, William Michael
(1911). "
Gozzoli, Benozzo
".
Encyclopædia Britannica
. Vol. 12 (11th ed.). pp. 305?306.
This has additional references:
- Vasari,
Crowe
and
Cavalcaselle
, and the other ordinary authorities, can be consulted as to the career of Gozzoli.
- A separate
Life
of him, by H. Stokes, was published in 1903 in Newne's Art library.
- ^
"Apsidal Chapel of Sant'Agostino in San Gimignano, Italy"
.
Olga's Gallery
. Retrieved
November 9,
2017
.
- ^
The Samuel H. Kress Study Collection at the University of Missouri
, by Norman E. Land, page 29-33.
Sources
[
edit
]
- Dale Kent
,
Cosimo de' Medici and the Florentine Renaissance
(New Haven: Yale University Press, 2000).
- Franco Cardini
,
The Chapel of the Magi in Palazzo Medici
(Firenze: Mandragora, 2001).
- Roger J. Crum
, "Roberto Martelli, the
Council of Florence
, and the Medici Palace Chapel",
Zeitschrift & Kunstgeschichte
, 59 (1996).
- Benozzo Gozzoli a San Gimignano, a cura di Gerardo de Simone, Cristina Borgioli, exhib. catal. (San Gimignano, Pinacoteca & Museo d’Arte Sacra, 18 June-1 November 2016), Firenze, Giunti, 2016
External links
[
edit
]
Wikisource
has original text related to this article:
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