Gentile da Fabriano, Adorazione dei Magi.
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Gentile da Fabriano, Adoration of the Magi, 1423. Tempera on panel.
In the 1427 land tax declaration, Palla Strozzi emerges as the richest citizen of Florence. He was the leading member of one of the families that dominated the town’s economic and political life. The Strozzi lived in the centre of modern day Via Tornabuoni, therefore their church was Santa Trinita. It was customary for rich families to embellish the chapels of which they were patrons with panels, frescoes and furnishings. Palla Strozzi, in honour of his own family, adorned the altars of the chapels in Santa Trinita with two of the most beautiful pieces of fifteenth century art: the Deposition by Beato Angelico and the Adoration of the Magi, which we are now admiring.
The altarpiece was painted by the famous artist Gentile da Fabriano, called to Florence directly by the patron. Gentile was in fact the undisputed master of the international Gothic style, which was popular in courts throughout Europe for its sophistication, its elegance, and its preciousness. From the splendid gilt frame decorated with a variety of painted flowers, to the lunettes above illustrating the travels of the Magi; from the central panel, depicted not as a religious scene, but as a crowded and colourful hunting party, to the richly dressed Magi and the Madonna and Child, represented as a noblewoman: never had such a grandiose and fascinating work of art been seen in Florence.
So we come to the patrons of this work of art: the two figures portrayed in the centre of the scene represent Palla Strozzi with a falcon, the heraldic emblem of the family, and his son Lorenzo with the red hat. The two Strozzi are not in the margins of the painting, they are in the foreground, immediately behind the Magi, almost ready to step into their place. Their clothing is slightly less ostentatious than that of the Oriental kings; their dimensions are equal to those of the principal figures. Lorenzo, shown from the front, looks towards the observer, calling him/her to admire the work of art. In the previous paintings we have the patrons, although we do not know their names. In this case, we have everything, the names and the portraits: the powerful Strozzi were immortalized forever.
In the 1427 land tax declaration, Palla Strozzi emerges as the richest citizen of Florence. He was the leading member of one of the families that dominated the town’s economic and political life. The Strozzi lived in the centre of modern day Via Tornabuoni, therefore their church was Santa Trinita. It was customary for rich families to embellish the chapels of which they were patrons with panels, frescoes and furnishings. Palla Strozzi, in honour of his own family, adorned the altars of the chapels in Santa Trinita with two of the most beautiful pieces of fifteenth century art: the Deposition by Beato Angelico and the Adoration of the Magi, which we are now admiring.
The altarpiece was painted by the famous artist Gentile da Fabriano, called to Florence directly by the patron. Gentile was in fact the undisputed master of the international Gothic style, which was popular in courts throughout Europe for its sophistication, its elegance, and its preciousness. From the splendid gilt frame decorated with a variety of painted flowers, to the lunettes above illustrating the travels of the Magi; from the central panel, depicted not as a religious scene, but as a crowded and colourful hunting party, to the richly dressed Magi and the Madonna and Child, represented as a noblewoman: never had such a grandiose and fascinating work of art been seen in Florence.
So we come to the patrons of this work of art: the two figures portrayed in the centre of the scene represent Palla Strozzi with a falcon, the heraldic emblem of the family, and his son Lorenzo with the red hat. The two Strozzi are not in the margins of the painting, they are in the foreground, immediately behind the Magi, almost ready to step into their place. Their clothing is slightly less ostentatious than that of the Oriental kings; their dimensions are equal to those of the principal figures. Lorenzo, shown from the front, looks towards the observer, calling him/her to admire the work of art. In the previous paintings we have the patrons, although we do not know their names. In this case, we have everything, the names and the portraits: the powerful Strozzi were immortalized forever.
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