The first cloister is surrounded by later frescoes, scenes from the
life of St. Antoninus, partly by Bernardino Poccetti and Matteo
Rosselli, at the beginning of the seventeenth century. They are not of
great artistic value, but one, the fifth on the right of the entrance,
representing the entry of St. Antoninus into Florence, shows the old
façade of the Duomo. Like gems in this rather indifferent setting, are
five exquisite frescoes by Angelico in lunettes over the doors; St.
Thomas Aquinas, Christ as a pilgrim received by two Dominican friars,
Christ in the tomb, St. Dominic (spoilt), St. Peter Martyr; also a
larger fresco of St. Dominic at the foot of the Cross. The second of
these, symbolising the hospitality of the convent rule, is one of
Angelico's masterpieces; beneath it is the entrance to the Foresteria,
the guest-chambers. Under the third lunette we pass into the great
Refectory, with its customary pulpit for the novice reader: here,
instead of the usual Last Supper, is a striking fresco of St. Dominic
and his friars miraculously fed by Angels, painted in 1536 by Giovanni
Antonio Sogliani (a pupil of Lorenzo di Credi); the Crucifixion above,
with St. Catherine of Siena and St. Antoninus, is said to be by Fra
Bartolommeo. Here, too, on the right is the original framework by
Jacopo di Bartolommeo da Sete and Simone da Fiesole, executed in 1433,
for Angelico's great tabernacle now in the Uffizi.
Angelico's St. Dominic appropriately watches over the Chapter House,
which contains the largest of Fra Giovanni's frescoes and one of the
greatest masterpieces of religious art: the Crucifixion with the
patron saints of Florence, of the convent, and of the Medici, the
founders of the religious orders, the representatives of the zeal and
learning of the Dominicans, all gathered and united in contemplation
around the Cross of Christ. It was ordered by Cosimo dei Medici, and
painted about 1441. On our left are the Madonna, supported by the
Magdalene, the other Mary, and the beloved Disciple; the Baptist and
St. Mark, representing the city and the convent; St. Lawrence and St.
Cosmas (said by Vasari to be a portrait of Nanni di Banco, who died
twenty years before), and St. Damian. On our right, kneeling at the
foot of the Cross, is St. Dominic, a masterpiece of expression and
sentiment; behind him St. Augustine and St. Albert of Jerusalem
represent Augustinians and Carmelites; St. Jerome, St. Francis, St.
Bernard, St. John Gualbert kneel; St. Benedict and St. Romuald stand
behind them, while at the end are St. Peter Martyr and St. Thomas
Aquinas. All the male heads are admirably characterised and
discriminated, unlike Angelico's women, who are usually either merely
conventionally done or idealised into Angels. Round the picture is a
frieze of prophets, culminating in the mystical Pelican; below is the
great tree of the Dominican order, spreading out from St. Dominic
himself in the centre, with Popes Innocent V. and Benedict XI. on
either hand.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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