The Bartolini Salimbeni Chapel (

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

: ''Cappella Bartolini Salimbeni'') is a chapel in the church of

Santa Trinita Santa Trinita (; Italian for "Holy Trinity") is a Roman Catholic church located in front of the ''piazza'' of the same name, traversed by Via de' Tornabuoni, in central Florence, Tuscany, Italy. It is the mother church of the Vallumbrosan Orde ...

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

, central Italy. Its decoration by Lorenzo Monaco, dating to the 1420s, are one of the few surviving examples of

International Gothic International Gothic is a period of Gothic art that began in Burgundy, France, and northern Italy in the late 14th and early 15th century. It then spread very widely across Western Europe, hence the name for the period, which was introduced by the ...

frescoes in Italy. The chapel has kept other original elements, such as its altarpiece, an ''

Annunciation The Annunciation (; ; also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord; ) is, according to the Gospel of Luke, the announcement made by the archangel Gabriel to Ma ...

'', also by Monaco, and the railings.

History

The chapel, created during the Gothic renovation and enlargement of the church started in the mid-13th century, was owned by the rich merchant family of the Bartolini-Salimbeni since as early as 1363. Their residence, the Palazzo Bartolini Salimbeni, is located in the same square as the church. Around 1390, the chapel had been already decorated by

Spinello Aretino Spinello Aretino (c. 1350 – c. 1410) was an Italian Painting, painter from Arezzo, who was active in Tuscany at the end of the 14th and the first decade of the 15th century.Giovanni Francesco Toscani's frescoes in the annexed Ardinghelli Chapel. Monaco was inspired by numerous contemporary examples of ''Histories of the Virgin'' cycles, such as the

Baroncelli Chapel The Baroncelli Chapel is a chapel located at the end of the right transept in Santa Croce, Florence, church of Santa Croce, central Florence, Italy. It has frescoes by Taddeo Gaddi executed between 1328 and 1338. Description Gaddi artworks The ...

by Taddeo Gaddi, the Rinuccini Chapel by Giovanni da Milano and others, in the Basilica of Santa Croce, Orcagna's frescoes in

Santa Maria Novella Santa Maria Novella is a church in Florence, Italy, situated opposite, and lending its name to, the city's main railway station. Chronologically, it is the first great basilica in Florence, and is the city's principal Dominican church. The ch ...

, the Holy Cingulum Chapel by Agnolo Gaddi in the Prato Cathedral and the stained glass of

Orsanmichele Orsanmichele or Orsammichele (; from the Tuscan contraction of ''Orto di San Michele'', "Kitchen Garden of St. Michael") is a church in the Italian city of Florence. The building was constructed on the site of the kitchen garden of the monaster ...

, which perhaps Lorenzo Monaco had collaborated on. The frescoes were covered by white plaster in 1740, and were rediscovered in 1885–1887 by Augusto Burchi. In 1944, the retreating German forces blew up the nearby Ponte Santa Trinita, also causing damage to the frescoes. They were restored in 1961 and again in 2004.

Description

The frescoes, fragments of which are now lost, occupy the chapel's walls, vault, arch and lunette. Lorenzo Monaco was initially a miniaturist, but also worked on (wooden) panels: an outstanding example of the latter is the altarpiece in this chapel, his ''Annunciation''. The theme of the frescoes is connected to the contemporary dispute about the Immaculate Conception of Mary, involving the question of whether she had been born without the

original sin Original sin () in Christian theology refers to the condition of sinfulness that all humans share, which is inherited from Adam and Eve due to the Fall of man, Fall, involving the loss of original righteousness and the distortion of the Image ...

: the dispute saw the Franciscans and the Benedictines (including the Vallumbrosan Order holding the church at the time) against the Dominicans. Monaco's frescoes were inspired by the

apocrypha Apocrypha () are biblical or related writings not forming part of the accepted canon of scripture, some of which might be of doubtful authorship or authenticity. In Christianity, the word ''apocryphal'' (ἀπόκρυφος) was first applied to ...

Gospel of James The Gospel of James (or the Protoevangelium of James) is a second-century infancy gospel telling of the miraculous conception of the Virgin Mary, her upbringing and marriage to Joseph, the journey of the couple to Bethlehem, the birth of J ...

, dealing with Mary's infancy and supporting the Vallumbrosan's view that she had been not naturally born by her father. The cycle begins in the

lunette A lunette (French ''lunette'', 'little moon') is a crescent- or half-moon–shaped or semi-circular architectural space or feature, variously filled with sculpture, painted, glazed, filled with recessed masonry, or void. A lunette may also be ...

on the left wall, portraying the ''Espulsion of Joachim from the Temple'' and the ''Annunciation to Joachim''. Below are the ''Meeting of Joachim and Anne'' and ''Anne at the Golden Gate'', set in a fanciful

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

with high tower, belfries and other edifices painted in pink. The water of a stream where several youths are drinking is a symbol of Mary as the source of life, while the sea is a hint to her attribute as ''Stella Maris'' ("Star of the Sea") and the islet a symbol of virginity. The stories continue in the middle part of the end wall, with the ''Nativity of the Virgin'', following the same scheme of

Pietro Lorenzetti Pietro Lorenzetti (; – 1348) or Pietro Laurati was an Italian painter, active between and 1345. Together with his younger brother Ambrogio Lorenzetti, Ambrogio, he introduced Realism (arts), naturalism into Sienese School, Sienese art. In the ...

's '' Nativity of the Virgin'', with Jesus bathing, and the ''Presentation of the Virgin at the Temple''. The latter scene contains several

numerology Numerology (known before the 20th century as arithmancy) is the belief in an occult, divine or mystical relationship between a number and one or more coinciding events. It is also the study of the numerical value, via an alphanumeric system, ...

hints in the steps (three and seven, the number of the

Theological virtues Theological virtues are virtues associated in Christian theology and philosophy with salvation resulting from the grace of God. Virtues are traits or qualities which dispose one to conduct oneself in a morally good manner. Traditionally the theolo ...

and all the Virtues respectively) and in the arches of

Solomon's Temple Solomon's Temple, also known as the First Temple (), was a biblical Temple in Jerusalem believed to have existed between the 10th and 6th centuries Common Era, BCE. Its description is largely based on narratives in the Hebrew Bible, in which it ...

(three like the Holy Trinity). The scene on the mid-left wall, perhaps the sole executed by Lorenzo Monaco alone, depicts the ''Marriage of the Virgin''. The pretenders who are refused by Mary walk from the right to left such as in the artist's ''

Adoration of the Magi The Adoration of the Magi or Adoration of the Kings or Visitation of the Wise Men is the name traditionally given to the subject in the Nativity of Jesus in art in which the three Magi, represented as kings, especially in the West, having fo ...

'' at the Uffizi; one of them (that in the background, behind the arcade) is a possible self-portrait of Monaco, although his age does not correspond to the artist's one at the time. The next scene is that of the ''Annunciation'', whose predella has scenes of the ''Visitation'', ''Nativity and Annunciation to the Shepherds'', ''Adoration of the Magi'' and the ''Flight to Egypt''. The next episodes depicted include some miracles connected to Mary: the ''Dormitio'', the ''Assumption'' and the ''Miracle of the Snow''. In the cross vault are portrayals of Prophets

David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...

Isaiah Isaiah ( or ; , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "Yahweh is salvation"; also known as Isaias or Esaias from ) was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named. The text of the Book of Isaiah refers to Isaiah as "the prophet" ...

Malachi Malachi or Malachias (; ) is the name used by the author of the Book of Malachi, the last book of the Nevi'im (Prophets) section of the Hebrew Bible, Tanakh. It is possible that ''Malachi'' is not a proper name, because it means "messenger"; ...

and Micah.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bartolini Salimbeni Chapel 1420s paintings Church frescos in Florence Gothic paintings Paintings by Lorenzo Monaco Paintings of David Paintings of Hebrew Bible prophets Paintings of John the Baptist Paintings of the Annunciation category:Paintings of Isaiah