The Church of San Francesco in Assisi, the Basilica of St. Francis in the monastery of Sacro-Convento (Italian: La Basilica di San Francesco d "Assisi) is the main temple of the Franciscan order, located in the city of Assisi (Italy, the administrative region of Umbria). It is one of the six great basil (lat. Basilica maior) of the Catholic Church.The temple gained worldwide fame thanks to the famous frescoes of the 13th century based on the life of St. Francis, the author of which is considered Giotto and his students.The Church of San Francesco, together with the monastery of the Sacro Convento in Assisi, are included in the World Heritage List UNESCO.
The temple, built in the 13th century, is, in fact, two-story. The upper tier, which is commonly called the Upper Church, is the visible part of the building, rising on a hill, while the Lower Church is hidden in its thickness and ordinary buildings of the monastery. Its only visible element is the south portal leading to the stone-paved Lower St. Francis Square. The entrance to the Upper Church is on the east side, from the Upper St. Francis Square, which is covered with lawn.
Both tiers are single-nave basilicas with a transept. The plan of the lower church is complicated by numerous chapels and crypts. From the church you can go even lower - to the crypt where St. Francis is buried. At the southern facade of the church rises a 60-meter bell tower. Buttresses and flying buttresses framing the building are visible from the northern facade, and from the side of the Lower Square they are lost between the bell tower and auxiliary structures.
Style characteristic
If the style of the lower church immersed in twilight goes back to ancient tradition Roman crypt, the interiors of the spacious upper temple carry new aesthetic values, which later will be picked up by the architects of Central Italy. This two-tiered church, in terms of planning, quite closely follows contemporary examples of French Gothic, such as, for example, Sainte-Chapelle in Paris, but at the same time retains continuity with the Italian basilicas of the Romanesque period.
Apparently, Italian architects consciously avoided the radical Gothic, which was so fashionable in that era at the courts of the northern feudal lords. Without trying to disguise the weight of building structures, they shifted the architectural focus towards a clear structured domed space. The foundations of the temple are adjacent to powerful walls, which, however, do not prevent sunlight from entering the temple. "Thin bundles of connected columns support the ribs of the vaults spanning four rectangular spans."
Thus, the appearance of the church is a synthesis of Romanesque and French Gothic, reflecting many typical features of the Italian Gothic style.
Construction history
The construction of the Franciscan monastery of Sacro-Convento and both basilicas of San Francesco in Assisi began in 1228, almost immediately after the canonization of the founder of the order and a native of this city, St. Francis. The land in the west of the city, where St. Francis retired from the city to die, was donated to the Franciscans by Simon di Puchiarello. The former place of execution of criminals, known in Assisi as "Hell's Hill" (Collo d'Inferno), began to be called "Paradise Hill".
The foundation stone of the building was solemnly laid on July 17, 1228 by Pope Gregory IX, although by that time work had already begun. The construction was directed and supervised by the Vicar of the Order, Elia Bombardone, one of the first companions of St. Francis, who had experience building for the crusaders in Syria.
The lower basilica was completed in 1230. On Trinity on May 25, the incorrupt body of the founder of the order was transferred there from a temporary shelter in the church of St. George (now the Basilica of Saint Clare). The upper basilica was built between 1239 and 1253. The decoration of the church was better than the masters of their time - from Cimabue to Giotto (see below).
In 1288, Pope Nicholas IV, who had previously been the head of the Franciscan order, granted the basilica the status of a papal church.
Church decoration
The creation of the famous fresco cycle of the church took more than a century and a half. The artists started by painting the walls of the Lower Basilica (Cimabue, master of St. Francis), and then switched to decorating the walls of the Upper Basilica (Cimabue, Giotto). Having finished work in the Upper Church, the masters returned to the Lower Church and the new chapels attached to it (Giotto, Simone Martini, Pietro Lorenzetti).
Brief chronology of works
1226 - death of St. Francis.
1228 - the beginning of construction.
1230 - completion of the lower basilica. Reburial of the relics of the saint.
1235 - consecration of the church by the Pope.
1239 - the beginning of the construction of the upper basilica.
1253 completion of the upper basilica.
1270 - the master of St. Francis paints the walls of the Lower Church.
approx. 1278 - Cimabue paints the walls of the Upper Church
1282 - the first period of Giotto's work
1296 - the second period of Giotto's work
approx. 1298 - 28 "Franciscan stories" on the walls of the upper church of San Francesco in Assisi (presumably the work of Giotto).
1322 frescoes by Simone Martini in the Lower Church.
approx. 1326 frescoes by Pietro Lorenzetti in the Lower Church.
1368 - frescoes by master Andrea in the Lower Church.
lower church
The lower church owes its appearance, close in type to the crypt, to the vicar of the order, brother Elijah, who gained extensive experience in building massive stone crypts in Syria.
The entrance to it is through a portal on the southern facade, made in the Gothic style (2nd half of the 13th century) with two carved wooden doors (Umbrian workshop, 16th century).
Chapel of Catherine of Alexandria
At the opposite end of the vestibule is a chapel built at the expense of Cardinal Egidius Albornoz, papal legate in 1350-1367. It is dedicated to Saint Catherine of Alexandria. Frescoes with 8 episodes of her life were created in 1368-1639. master signed "Andreas pictor de Bononia". Most likely, it was Andrea de Bartoli (c. 1349-1369), the court painter of Cardinal Albornoz (sometimes these works are erroneously attributed to Andrea Bologna). The saints in this chapel were painted by Pace di Bartolo of Assisi (1344-1368).
Chapel of St. Sebastian
To the left of the entrance is a small chapel of St. Sebastian with paintings by Giacomo Giorgetti, the walls of which are decorated with episodes from the life of this saint by Gerolamo Martelli. On the right are two tombstones: Giovanni de Cerci and John de Brienne, King of Jerusalem.
Master of St. Francis: nave
The central nave of the basilica is surrounded by several chapels with semicircular arches. The frescoes decorating the nave are considered the oldest in the temple. Their creator remained unknown and, according to the main pictorial plot, began to appear in the history of art as the Master of St. Francis. On the right wall he wrote 5 scenes from the Passion of Christ, and on the left - 5 moments from the life of St. Francis. Such an arrangement of plots against each other, in the opinion of the Franciscans, should have emphasized the role of the founder of their order as the second Christ and their similarity.
The ceiling of the nave is sky-colored and painted with golden stars. The listed frescoes, made in tempera on dry plaster, date back to 1260-1263. and are recognized as the finest examples of Tuscan wall paintings from the pre-Cimabue period. Many images in the lower part of the walls were badly damaged or almost destroyed. The exceptions are several fragments of Cimabue's Madonna and Child with an Angel. With the growing popularity of the church between 1270 and 1350. many noble families began to order their own chapels, attached to the main nave, thus destroying the frescoes on the main walls.
FRESCOES IN THE SAN FRANCESCO COMPLEX
The creation of the famous fresco cycle of the church took more than a century and a half. The artists began by painting the walls of the Lower Basilica (Cimabue, master of St. Francis), and then switched to decorating the walls of the Upper Basilica (Cimabue, Giotto). Having finished work in the Upper Church, the masters returned to the Lower Church and the new chapels attached to it (Giotto, Simone Martini, Pietro Lorenzetti).
The episodes from the lives of the saints depicted on some of the frescoes are taken from the Golden Legend, a monument of Latin literature of the 13th century. The book was extremely popular throughout the Renaissance. In terms of its popularity in the countries of Western Europe, it can only be compared with the Bible and chivalric romances.
The "Golden Legend" Legenda Aurea is a work by the Dominican Jacob Voraginsky, Bishop of Genoa, a collection of Christian legends and entertaining lives of the saints, written around 1260. Its first name was "The Legend of the Saints" - "Legenda Sanctorum". After some time, in the folk tradition, it turned into "Legenda Aurea", that is, "Golden", having received this nickname for its high merits. In the Middle Ages, the word "legend" was understood in the direct meaning of the Latin word - "what should be read" and indicated a collection of soulful texts that were to be read in the church on the corresponding days of the liturgical calendar, and also used to prepare sermons. The book had a second title: "Lombard history" - "Historia Lombardica". The creator of the book, Jacob Voraginsky, came from Lombardy. At the end of his work, he placed a small historical chronicle, which opened with a story about the conquest of Italy by the Lombards. At the end of many manuscripts, as a rule, it was stated: "Here ends the history of Lombardy." Under this name - "Lombard History" - the book was known in Moscow in the 17th century: there was a mention that the "Lombard History" was one of the books from the library of the illustrious associate of Peter the Great Patrick Gordon, which in 1698 General Gordon donated to the Catholic church in the German Quarter .
The "Golden Legend" is a theology that is relatively accessible to most believers. The diverse information collected in the Golden Legend was used in Dominican schools in the preparation of preachers.
UPPER CHURCH
Upper church in Assisi. General view towards the altar.
Upper church in Assisi.
Layout of frescoes with scenes from the life of St. Francis (1-28) and other frescoes by Giotto (29-34).
The frescoes of the upper and middle tiers are poorly preserved.
1-3 scenes.
4-6 scenes.
10-12 scenes.
The most important part of the decorative decoration of the church is a cycle of 28 frescoes along the lower part of the nave, attributed to Giotto. The frescoes are distinguished by new artistic solutions introduced by the artist into Italian painting.
"The three-dimensional world - voluminous and tangible - is rediscovered, victoriously affirmed by the artist's brush. The symbolism of Byzantine art is discarded. The highest simplicity is guessed. Nothing superfluous. All the artist's attention is focused on the main thing, and a synthesis is given, a grandiose generalization." (L. D. Lyubimov)
Each pier between the columns contains three frescoes, plus two frescoes in the eastern galleries next to the entrance and two more on the entrance wall. When creating the iconography, the artist relied on the "Legenda Maior", a biography of St. Francis, written in 1266 by St. Bonaventure and three biographies written by Brother Thomas of Celano. The prototype for this cycle could be the cycle of Pietro Cavallini, which has not survived to this day, in the church of St. Francesco in Rome. According to Vasari, Giotto's frescoes were painted between 1296 and 1304.
The authorship of Giotto is disputed due to the many ambiguities in the stories of early sources about the creators of this cycle. Many Italian critics defend the version of their belonging to Giotto and his workshop. Because of the stylistic differences from the Isaac fresco cycle, it is believed that some or even most of the frescoes in the Franciscan cycle were created by at least three different artists using original ideas Giotto. They are called: Master of the legend of St. Francis (the main creator of most of the images), Master of the burial of St. Francis and Master of St. Caecilia.
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Giotto di Bondone(Giotto di Bondone), Italian painter. Representative of Proto-Renaissance art. He studied, apparently, in the workshop of Cimabue (1280-90). He worked mainly in Padua and Florence. He enjoyed wide recognition among his contemporaries and citizens of Florence, where from 1334 he supervised the construction of the cathedral and city fortifications. The name of D. is associated with a revolution in the development of Italian painting. Boldly breaking with medieval artistic canons and the traditions of Italo-Byzantine painting, D. introduces an earthly principle into religious subjects. He depicts the scenes of gospel legends with unprecedented vitality, turning them into a dramatic, fascinating story. To the number early work D. include some of the frescoes of the Upper Church of San Francesco in Assisi (between 1290 and 1299). The frescoes were made by a group of masters, so it is difficult to determine the authentic works of D. (a number of researchers deny the authorship of D.). In the early 1300s. D. visited Rome. Acquaintance with late antique painting and the works of P. Cavallini influenced his work. In 1304-06, D. creates his main work - the murals of the Scrovegni Chapel (chapel del Arena) in Padua. Located on the walls of the chapel in 3 tiers, the murals recreate in sequential order the history of the life of Mary and Christ. The solution of the theme in the form of a series of dramatic episodes, the observance of the unity of time and place in each composition, the unprecedented energetic construction of the volumes and space of the stage, the simplicity of situations and the plastic expressiveness of gestures, the light, festive color make the murals an outstanding work of proto-Renaissance painting in Italy. Filled with restraint and dignity, the heroes of D. reflect the formation of ideas about the value of the human person and earthly existence. At the beginning of the 14th century D. performs murals in the church of Badia in Florence (1300-02; fragments were discovered in 1966), as well as a number of altarpieces, among which the most famous is the Madonna in Glory (Ognissanti Madonna; 1310-20, Uffizi Gallery, Florence) . Preserving the traditional composition, D. achieves greater persuasiveness of the spatial construction, monumentality and internal significance of the image. The paintings of the chapels of Peruzzi (circa 1320) and Bardi (1320-25) in the Florentine church of Santa Croce on the themes of the lives of John the Baptist, John the Evangelist, and Francis of Assisi belong to the late period of D.'s work. Organically connected with the architecture of the chapels, the murals are distinguished by calm solemnity, architectonic harmony of the composition, restraint of colors. D. is credited with the project of the campanile (bell tower) of the Florentine cathedral, which, despite the Gothic character of the decor, is characterized by a clear dissection and rhythmic proportion of parts (construction began in 1334, continued in 1337-43 by Andrea Pisano, completed around 1359 by F. Talenti). D.'s work had a huge impact on the development of Italian art, which was reflected both in the works of his students (Taddeo Gaddi) and in the works of many of the greatest masters of the 14th and 15th centuries. (Altichiero, Avanzo, Masaccio, Castagno) and High Renaissance (Michelangelo). Great Soviet Encyclopedia. “Giotto again brought to light an art that for many centuries was buried under the mistakes of those who, working with paints, are more eager to amuse the eyes of the ignorant than to satisfy the mind of the wise,” says Boccaccio in one of the short stories of the Decameron (written a little over ten years after death of the artist), which (the fifth short story of the sixth day) describes the physical unattractiveness, but at the same time the liveliness of the mind of "the best painter in the world." The disastrous condition of the Cimabue frescoes betrays the unsuccessful use of dyes, noted by Vasari, and the imperfection of the method of working with the imposition of plaster in large areas across the entire width of the scaffolding. At the same time, the picturesque surfaces of Giotto's frescoes have been preserved quite well. This is due to the use of a new technique of fresco painting using the “one day” method (metodo delle “giornate”): by applying small patches of plaster one next to the other, the master each time determined their size by how much he thought it was possible to paint during one daylight hours. By this method the plaster was kept moist and fresh all the time, so that the liquid paint penetrated deeply into it, and the corrections in dryness were quite small, while with the old method used by Cimabue they were very extensive. But in addition to purely technical innovations, the very concept of the fresco has changed. For Cimabue and the medieval masters, a wall intended for painting was a surface, and the image that filled it was accordingly squeezed into a two-dimensional space. The decorations located along the edges resembled the ornamental framing of a carpet, tapestry or book miniature, with large floral motifs, ribbons or other decorative elements, rendered purely graphically in bright, sonorous colors. On the contrary, Giotto's frescoes in the Upper Church are conceived as if they were set in the architecture of the church itself, and the objects depicted in them are given in three dimensions, as they really are to us. |
1.Franciscan cycle. The holy fool predicts the coming glory of the young Saint Francis.
And it came to pass that a certain inhabitant of Assisi, a simple man, but, as everyone believes, wise of God, once passing through the city and meeting Francis, took off his cloak and spread his clothes at his feet, thereby showing that Francis over time, he will be honored with all the signs of reverence, since he will have to accomplish a great deed, for which he will be revered above many by the entire Christian world.
Authentic buildings are depicted, according to art historians: the Palazzo Pubblico and the Temple of Minerva in Piazza del Comune in Assisi. Only Giotto has something wrong with arithmetic. There are six columns in the portico of the temple, and five are depicted here.
Faced with the need to portray almost contemporary events for which it would be implausible to resort to the generalized clothes of biblical stories, Giotto dressed his secular characters in modern clothes.
This solution would be such a success that the art of the next two centuries would be involved in a situation of decisive intrusion of characters in modern clothes into images of events that were by no means modern.
2.Franciscan cycle. Giving a cloak to a poor nobleman.
And when his strength was restored, and he went out, as usual, putting on beautiful new clothes, he met a certain warrior, formerly famous, but now impoverished and poorly dressed, and he was struck by ardent compassion for the poverty of this man and immediately, undressing, gave him his clothes, thereby fulfilling in an instant the two duties of mercy: covering the shame of a worthy warrior and alleviating the need of a poor person.
3.Franciscan cycle. Dream of a palace.
On the same night, falling into a dream, by the grace of God, he saw a huge and magnificent palace with many military weapons, decorated with the sign of the cross of Christ, and so it was foretold to him that the mercy that he showed to the poor soldier in the name of love for the Most High King would be paid with an incomparable reward. He began to ask in a dream whose palace it was and where it came from, and heard the answer and confirmation from above that all this would belong to him and his army.
4.Franciscan cycle. Crucifixion from San Damiano.
And then one day he went out into the field to meditate, and in his thoughts he reached the church of St. Damian, dilapidated and almost collapsed from extreme old age, and entered it, inflamed with spirit, for prayer, and when he prostrated himself before the image of Christ, his spirit received in prayer great relief. With eyes full of tears, he looked at the cross of the Lord, and then a voice was heard from the cross, proclaiming three times (and he listened to these words with a bodily ear): “Go, Francis, rebuild my house - you see, it is almost destroyed!” There was no one except Francis in the church at that hour, he shuddered and froze, and when he realized in his heart that he was listening to Christ himself, he lost his memory and fell unconscious.
The church with the Crucifix on the altar and the young kneeling Saint Francis form the two components of this story, two pictorial "words" interpreted by Giotto as if they were completely separated from each other.
One "object" is the church of San Damiano, rendered from a perspective that illusionistically visually recreates not so much its ruined state as a whole, but rather its disintegration into parts (as if it were a broken vase); another "object" is the figure of St. Francis, which is only symbolically located inside the church, since it is not at all correlated with it in scale.
5. Franciscan cycle. Renunciation of property.
To renovate the church, Francis sold a horse and some goods from his father's shop. He accused him of stealing and brought him to trial before the bishop, because his son refused to come to the secular court. The bishop ordered that the money be returned to the father. "...then the young man threw off all his clothes and remained in one sackcloth. Picking up clothes from the ground, he threw them to his shocked father: Listen," exclaimed Francis, "until now I called Father Pietro Bernardone, but I want to serve the Lord alone, and "I renounce all my father's property and the clothes that I received from him. From now on, I can say with confidence: "Our Father who art in heaven." Lively sympathy seized the crowd. The bishop himself was touched. With his mantle, he covered the nakedness of the young man. "
If the discovery of three-dimensionality seems to be the most striking achievement of Giotto, then his other aspects are also quite obvious, no less rich in significance for the course of development of Western European painting. These include the discovery of a "speaking" gesture, the expression of feelings through facial expressions, a pose that is meaningful in terms of the clarity of the depicted story. In this fresco, the anger of Father Francis is expressed in his tense face, in the way he picked up his clothes, about to throw himself at his son, and especially in the outstretched hand held by his friend and her clenched fist.
6.Franciscan cycle. Innocent III is in a dream of St. Francis, supporting the church.
... a few days later - perhaps through the prayers of the Saint and his brethren - the Pope saw in a vision how the Lateran Basilica was terribly collapsing, the columns were breaking down, the vaults were crumbling. But suddenly a poor brother from Assisi appears, grows and grows, reaches gigantic proportions and exposes his back to a falling building. As if by magic, the walls are restored, and the temple gains stability. It was not difficult for Innocent III to unravel the symbol and penetrate the meaning of the vision: God wanted to use this man to restore His Church, which is threatened by heretics and the bad behavior of Christians.
The Basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano is depicted as it appeared after the restoration undertaken by Pope Nicholas IV in 1290; the face of the young saint supporting the basilica is one of the most expressive in the whole cycle.
7.Franciscan cycle. Approval of the charter of the Franciscan order.
The Pope no longer doubted the holiness of Francis and understood God's plan. But isn't the poverty he preaches excessive? He again summoned Francis and expressed to him his misgivings, shared by some of the cardinals. Francis in response inspired and chivalrously sang of Mrs. Poverty, praising her as the most beautiful lady who won the heart of the Heavenly King, in whose appearance the nobility of the Father was imprinted. Would such a Father not take care of His beloved children? Dad was touched. His fears dissipated. Go with God, he said, and preach repentance with your associates, as He inspires you. When you increase in number, let us know, we will give you new permissions and entrust you with new assignments.
The approval of the charter of the Franciscan order, despite the fact that the quality of the figures leaves much to be desired, is distinguished - along with the Sermon before Pope Honorius - by the most organic and integral organization of the pictorial space among all the frescoes of the Upper Church. In these compositions, the unity of the central point of view is perfectly observed, and they are two exemplary examples of Giotto's characteristic interpretation of space in the form of a cubic box open in front. It seems that the artist's attention was focused on the upper parts of the composition, carved in the first fresco by a series of strongly protruding arches on massive strong consoles, in the second - by cross vaults, for the first time in Italian painting, rendered in perspective. It should also be noted the location of the kneeling monks behind St. Francis in rows extending into the depths.
8. Franciscan cycle. The miraculous apparition of St. Francis to the brethren.
In the face of this heroic holiness, God was not slow to reveal His presence through a miracle, showing how pleasing to Him was Francis and his brethren. Once, when the Saint went up to Assisi to address the people after prayer in the cathedral, the Lord plunged him into ecstasy. At the same time, the brothers who were in Rivotorto saw him on a shining chariot, from which a supernatural light emanated in all directions; the chariot circled their small house three times, after which it disappeared from sight.
The idea of showing sleeping monks is quite unusual.
9.Franciscan cycle. Vision of heavenly thrones.
…one day Brother Pacificus, praying with him in the church, was lifted up in ecstasy, and saw several thrones in heaven, and among them was one, surpassing the rest in luxury, all adorned with precious stones. And he asked himself for whom such a magnificent place could be intended, and then a voice said to him: "This was the place of an angel, and now it is reserved for the humble Francis."
The objectivity of the armchairs hanging in the air and the sight of the lamp suspended above the altar on a rope, which allows it to be raised and lowered to pour oil, are striking in their objectivity.
10. Franciscan cycle. The expulsion of demons from Arezzo.
It happened one day that Francis came to Arezzo, and the whole city was destroyed from enmity between the townspeople. Approaching the walls, he saw demons rejoicing in enmity and awakening in the souls of the inhabitants the desire to destroy each other; so he called his brother, who was called Sylvester, a man of God, worthy and simple, and said to him: "Go to the gates of the city and on behalf of the Lord Almighty command the demons to quickly leave it." The brother hurried to the city gates, reading psalms to the glory of God. And then he shouted at the top of his voice in front of the entrance to the city: “In the name of the Almighty Lord and by order of our father Francis, get rid of the demons!”. And peace returned to Arezzo, and the people became calm again.
11. Franciscan cycle. Trial by fire before the Sultan.
…but nothing worked on Francis. Taking his brother Illuminato with him, he entered the enemy's land with a cry: "Sultan, Sultan." They were immediately seized, severely beaten, and brought before Sultan Melek-el-Kamel, a valiant and wise sovereign. In response to the request of the Sultan, Francis stated the purpose of the parish: he did not want to renounce Christ, but to convert the Sultan and his people to the Evangelical faith. He spoke for a long time about the mystery of the One and Trinity God, but, feeling that his words did not reach, he came up with something more effective. “Order,” he said, “that a great fire be kindled, and call your priests. We will walk into the fire together. Which of us will remain unharmed, believe in his faith. “None of our priests would agree to such a test in defense of our faith,” the Sultan replied. But Francis did not give up. The Holy Spirit prompted him with new arguments and words, but in vain: the sultan, inwardly convinced that Francis was right, was afraid of the "popular noise".
12. Franciscan cycle. Ecstasy of Saint Francis.
... a few days later they returned to the man's house, and out of curiosity he began to watch what Francis was doing in the middle of the night; and he saw him in prayer, and then he saw the saint rise above the earth in ecstasy, and be surrounded by a dazzling light. And that man felt the unbearable heavenly heat, which aroused in him the desire to imitate the way of life of the little brothers.
13. Franciscan cycle. Solemn celebration of Christmas in Greccio.
... St. Francis decided to spend the Christmas holiday there and asked the count to build in one of the caves an image of the manger in which the Lord was born. The news spread, and brothers began to converge in Greccio from everywhere. The residents of the surrounding and distant villages were also covered by the expectation. Mass was celebrated at midnight, Francis was for the deacon. A man worthy of respect had a vision. Namely: he dreamed that a very small boy was lying in a manger and seemed to be inanimate. The saint of God, bending over him, tries to wake him up so that he wakes up from his deepest sleep. And this vision seems quite reasonable to us, because the infant Jesus is forgotten in many hearts as dead, and in these hearts, by the mercy of the Infant himself and the exploits of His servant Saint Francis, He was revived and returned to pious memory.
14. Franciscan cycle. A wonderful discovery of the source.
In the summer of 1224, Francis, already weighed down by illness, went for the last time to Mount Verna. The ascent was possible only on horseback, so the brothers provided him with a donkey, which for a while gave way to one pious person, as well as escorts. The sun beat down mercilessly, the stones became red-hot, in the crevices of the rocks one could see somehow preserved bunches of yellowed grass. Everything seemed to be asleep, the sounds died out: even the trees barely rustled with drying leaves. Suddenly, the guide, turning to the Saint, prayed: Father, have mercy! I'll die if I don't quench my thirst. Francis, always imbued with pity for the suffering, got down from the donkey and began to pray, raising his hands, and prayed until it was revealed to him that his prayer had been heard. Then, turning to his guide, he said: Do not hesitate, run quickly to that rock and there you will find water, which Christ has now brought out of the stone to quench your thirst.
The two scenes on the entrance walls, The Miraculous Discovery of the Spring and the Sermon to the Birds, are no doubt entirely by Giotto.
15. Franciscan cycle. Sermon to the birds.
Not far from Cannara, on one fresh spring morning, they saw many birds chirping merrily on the flowering branches. A mysterious power brought Francis close to them, and immediately the birds flew up around him and settled on his shoulders, on his head, on his arms. It seemed to the astonished companion of Francis that before him was not a reality, but a dream, that Adam, by an unheard-of miracle, suddenly returned to a state of innocence and was talking with animals and birds. And Francis, as if everything was happening in a natural order, ordered his singing friends to be silent, after which he began a sermon, admonishing the birds to always praise the Lord, feeding and clothing them with unspeakable love. In the end, he made the sign of the cross over them and let them fly and sing. For some time he watched them soar into the air, flap their wings and sing sweet songs, then set off again.
16. Franciscan cycle. Sudden death of a nobleman from Celano.
Francis, arriving in Celano to preach there, was stopped by a certain nobleman, modestly but persistently calling him to share a meal with him. Francis apologized and refused, but was eventually defeated by his arguments. Dinner time arrived and the table was set. The owner was happy, and all his family rejoiced at the guests who came to eat dinner with them. Francis got up, looked up into the heavens and said to the nobleman: “Brother master, I have come to your house through your prayers to dine with you, but listen carefully to me now, for you are destined to dine not here, but in another place. Go and confess as quickly as you can, and don't leave a secret of what you would save for the last confession. The Lord will reward you today for receiving his people in your home with such love.” Listening to his holy words, the nobleman called the priest who accompanied Francis and confessed to him. He put his house in order and began to wait for it to happen according to the word of the saint. And when all those sitting began to eat, the nobleman crossed himself and held out his hand to the bread. But before he could touch him, his head fell and his spirit left his body.
On the laid table, dishes, earthenware and cutlery stand out noticeably on the plane of the table, covered with a white embroidered tablecloth.
17. Franciscan cycle. Sermon before Pope Honorius III.
Appearing before him, Francis spoke of the vision he had in the Porziuncola and of his desire to bring souls to paradise. For how many years are you asking for this indulgence? “Holy Father,” answered Francis, “I don’t need years, but souls. The request was unusual. Such an indulgence was given only to those who, having taken the cross, went on a crusade to liberate the Holy Sepulcher. And yet the Pope, despite the objections of the curia, gave indulgence. Francis, rejoicing, was about to leave: - Listen, simpleton, - the Pope told him, - where are you going without a document certifying our permission? - Holy Father, your word is enough for me. I don't need papers. Instead of papers, I have the Blessed Virgin Mary, instead of a notary, Christ, instead of witnesses, angels.
The gesture of Saint Francis, which may seem vulgar to some, was certainly not considered such in Giotto's time. This lively direct manner of pointing at something with a protruding thumb is repeated again in the Madonna between St. Francis and John the Baptist by Pietro Lorenzetti in the Lower Church. Gestures of reflection and surprise among the prelates from the composition of Giotto became in the XIV century. common, but they were invented here.
18. Franciscan cycle. The apparition of Saint Francis during the sermon of Anthony of Padua in Arles.
Although Francis could not be physically with all the distant branches of the order, but the rule established by him, the fervent prayers offered by him, and the blessings given to them, created the impression that he was with them all the time. Sometimes even the Lord, in all his almighty power, allowed him to miraculously appear among them, as happened once in Arles. It happened once that Brother Anthony, an excellent preacher, read to the flock about the Passion of the Son of God and about the inscription on His cross “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews”, as one of the brothers, called Monald, a man of exemplary virtues, was prompted by the Lord to turn to the door of the church . And he saw there the blessed Francis in the air, and his hands were stretched out to the cross, blessing all those assembled. And their hearts were then filled with great consolation, which was a sign of the presence of their Father and a confirmation of what Brother Monald had seen.
19. Franciscan cycle. Stigmatization.
... next summer, Francis went to Mount Verna - to hold a fast there in honor of St. Michael the Archangel. (…) Francis wanted to seal his love with blood. He could not suffer at the hands of people, now he constantly prayed to God about it. Suddenly, a supernatural light spilled into the sky, illuminated by dawn, and in a bright glow, Francis, seized by an ecstatic impulse, beheld the Man crucified on the Cross. Two wings of a seraph above the head, two wings open, two wings covering the back. When the vision vanished, blood oozed from his flesh. Bloody wounds gaped on his arms and legs, as if he had undergone execution by crucifixion. Hardenings were visible on the palms and feet, similar on the one hand to the heads of nails, on the other - to their pointed and curved ends. A wide wound with red edges was visible on the rib, from where blood flowed through the body, staining clothes.
Stigmata are painful bleeding wounds on the believer's body, similar to the wounds of the crucified Christ. It is believed that St. Francis was the first to receive the stigmata.
20. Franciscan cycle. Death of Saint Francis.
... death appeared to him as blessed, as a sister deliverer, as soon as he saw that before him was the same path that Christ had walked, ascended to the glory of the Father. And then the world descended into his soul, he felt that he was raptured into those higher limits where earthly vanity does not reach. It seemed to him that he was walking along a flowering path towards a light that was shining brighter and brighter. With his last breath, he said: “Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise Your name. The righteous will gather around me when You show me a favor.” At that moment, his heart stopped beating. God fulfilled his last request. Suddenly, in the twilight, the movements of many wings were heard: it was larks that flocked to the cell of the Saint and sang their song. The first stars lit up in the clear blue of the sky.
21. Franciscan cycle. Apparition to Brother Augustine and Bishop Guido of Arezzo.
Brother Augustine was the eldest in the community of Terra di Lavoro. When he was dying, in his last hour of death he suddenly cried out so loudly that he was heard by everyone - although for a long time everyone thought that he could not talk: “Wait for me, father! Wait for me! I'm coming for you! The brothers asked who he was talking to, and they heard in response: "Don't you see our father Francis ascending into heaven?" And at the same moment the soul of Brother Augustine left his mortal flesh and followed the holy father.
22. Franciscan cycle. Confirmation of the stigmata.
The body of the Saint, which before his death was long blackened from illness, became beautiful, it shone with great purity and its appearance brought consolation. All his limbs, at first stiff, became soft and acquired the flexibility inherent in the body of a baby ... In the very middle of the arms and legs there were not holes from nails, but the nails themselves, formed from his flesh, even grown with the flesh itself, retaining a dark color, and the right the rib was irrigated with blood.
23. Franciscan cycle. Lamentation of Saint Francis by the nuns of the Order of Saint Clare.
The next morning he was carried into the city. The clergy, the authorities, the people stretched in a long line to the eastern gate with chants and prayers, exclaiming and waving green branches in greeting. A stop was made at the monastery of St. Damian. Clara and her daughters had too much right to see their father for the last time. The rising cry would have touched even the stones. The women who had deeply comprehended love were crying, it was the cry of the virgins for the man whom they followed in perfect devotion to him, attracted by his example and the power of influence. Their sadness contrasted with the festive mood of the crowd on that mild Sunday morning. After the last farewell of the Clarisse, the procession slowly moved on.
As for the subsequent frescoes, their belonging to Giotto is often questioned, either in part or, as for the last pier (usually attributed to the Master of Saint Cecilia), in full.
24. Franciscan cycle. Canonization of Saint Francis.
Motivated by his own desire and the desire of all Christians, the pope hastened the process of canonization by appointing a commission of cardinals. About forty miracles under review have been historically attested, but to many this procedure has seemed superfluous. “What is the need,” they said, “in witnessed miracles, if we have seen the holiness of this most holy man with our own eyes, touched it with our own hands, and know that it has been tested by the truth?” All that remained was to perform the great rite. On July 16, 1228, Gregory IX arrived from Perugia in Assisi and solemnly canonized Francis as a saint, having served a papal service in St. George's Square.
25. Franciscan cycle. Appearance to Gregory IX.
Before the canonization of the saint of blessed memory, Pope Gregory IX, to whom Francis predicted the pontificate, doubted his stigmata. But one night, which the pope spent in tears, Saint Francis appeared to him in a dream. His face was stern, and he reproached Gregory for his doubts. Then he raised his right hand and showed a wound in the hypochondrium, and then said to take a cup and collect the blood flowing from the wound. Dad took the cup and blood overflowed the rim. From that night, Gregory believed in the stigmata so much that he did not allow anyone else to doubt these miraculous signs and severely punished such people.
26. Franciscan cycle. Healing of the wounded by robbers in Lleida.
There was a man in Lleida of Catalonia, called John, who greatly revered St. Francis, and one day he happened to be ambushed on a high road. One of the killers hit him with a sword so hard that there was no hope of recovery. The first blow severed his arm from his body, and the second penetrated his chest so deeply that the air escaping from his lungs extinguished half a dozen candles. The healers knew that John could not be saved. His wounds festered and the smell was so strong that even his wife could hardly stand it. None of the people could help him, and John began to ardently call on St. Francis with all his might. And here he was lying on his bed of suffering, conscious and calling on the name of Francis again and again, as a man in the attire of minor monks entered through the window and stood next to him, as it seemed to him. He called John by name and said, "You believed in me, and therefore the Lord will save you." And when the dying man asked who his guest was, he heard in response that St. Francis. He bent over him and untied all his bandages, and then, it seemed, washed him with some kind of ointment. As soon as John felt the touch of these holy hands, sharing their healing power from the stigmata of our Savior, his flesh was renewed.
27. Franciscan cycle. Resurrection of the unrepentant sinner from Benevent.
In the village of Monte Marano, near Benevento, a woman who was especially devoted to Saint Francis died. In the evening, several clergymen arrived to serve a service over the deceased, and then the woman suddenly sat up in bed and called one of them who was her uncle. “I want to confess, father,” she said, “Hear about my sin. I was dead and ended up in a terrible dungeon, for I never confessed the sin that I want to tell you about. But Saint Francis prayed for me, for I had always served him faithfully while I was alive, and I was allowed to return to my earthly body. After confession, I will be able to enjoy eternal life. You will see when I receive my reward." Then she confessed to the frightened priest, received the absolution of her sins, lay down in bed and calmly rested.
28. Franciscan cycle. Release from prison of Peter of Assisi, who was accused of heresy.
During the years when Gregory IX was pope, a certain man named Peter of Alife was accused of heresy and imprisoned in Rome. The pope entrusted the supervision of him to the Bishop of Tivoli, who put Peter in chains and threw him into a dark dungeon, from which there was no escape. But it was the eve of the celebration of the day of St. Francis, and Peter turned to him with prayers and tears, asking him to take pity on him. He embraced the pure faith and renounced his heresy, becoming one of Francis' most devoted admirers. And therefore, at the intercession of Francis, he was heard by the Lord. In the twilight of the outgoing feast day, Saint Francis took pity on him and descended from heaven into his prison cell. He called him by name and ordered him to get up. Peter was frightened and asked who it was. And he was answered - St. Francis. And then he saw how his chains themselves fell off his feet. And the walls of the cell parted, freeing the passage for escape. Peter was free, but so impressed by the spectacle he saw that he could not take a single step to save himself, in return he rushed to the door of his cell, frightening the guards with his cries.
29. The fourth sector of the right wall of the nave.
Isaac was forty years old when he took as his wife Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Mesopotamia, the sister of Laban the Aramean. And Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord heard him, and Rebekah his wife conceived. The sons in her womb began to beat, and she said: if so, then why do I need this? And she went to ask the Lord. The Lord said to her: two tribes are in your womb, and two different people come from your womb; one nation will become stronger than the other, and the larger one will serve the smaller one. And the time came for her to give birth: and behold the twins in her womb. The first came out all red, like skin, shaggy; and they named him Esau. Then his brother came out, holding Esau's heel with his hand; and they named him Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when they were born. 
30. Old Testament. The second sector of the right wall of the nave.
Isaac blesses Jacob.
The children grew up, and Esau became a man of hunting, a man of the fields; but Jacob a meek man who dwells in tents. Isaac loved Esau because his game was to his taste, and Rebekah loved Jacob. And Jacob cooked food; and Esau came from the field weary. And Esau said to Jacob, Give me red to eat, this red, for I am tired. From this was given him the nickname: Edom. But Jacob said, sell me now your birthright. Esau said, Behold, I am dying, what is this birthright to me? Jacob said: Swear to me now. He swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. And Jacob gave Esau bread and lentils; and he ate and drank, and got up and walked; and Esau neglected the birthright.
Isaac blesses Jacob (detail). When Isaac grew old and the sight of his eyes grew dim, he called his eldest son Esau and said to him: My son! He said to him: Here I am. He said: Behold, I am old; I do not know the day of my death; now take your implements, your quiver, and your bow, go into the field, and catch me game, and prepare for me food as I like, and bring me food, so that my soul will bless you before I die. Rebekah heard when Isaac spoke to his son Esau. And Esau went into the field to get and bring game; and Rebekah said to her son Jacob, Behold, I heard your father say to your brother Esau, Bring me game and prepare me a meal; I will sing and bless you before the face of the Lord, before my death. Now, my son, obey my words in what I order you: go to the herd and take me two good goats from there, and I will prepare food from them for your father, what he likes, and you bring it to your father, and he will eat, to bless you before my death. Jacob said to Rebekah his mother: Esau, my brother, is a shaggy man, but I am a smooth man; maybe my father will feel me, and I will be a deceiver in his eyes and bring a curse upon myself, and not a blessing. His mother told him: let your curse be on me, my son, just listen to my words and go and fetch me. He went and took and brought to his mother; and his mother made a dish which his father loved. And Rebekah took the rich clothes of her eldest son Esau, which were in her house, and put them on her youngest son Jacob; and she covered his hands and his smooth neck with the skin of goats; and gave the food and the bread which she had prepared into the hands of Jacob her son. He went in to his father and said: My father! He said: here I am; who are you my son? Jacob said to his father: I am Esau, your firstborn; I did as you told me; get up, sit down and eat my game so that your soul will bless me. And Isaac said to his son: What did you find so soon, my son? He said: because the Lord your God has sent to meet me. And Isaac said to Jacob: Come, I will feel you, my son, are you my son Esau, or not? Jacob went up to Isaac, his father, and he felt him and said, The voice, the voice of Jacob; but the hands, the hands of Esau. And he did not recognize him, because his hands were like the hands of Esau his brother, shaggy; and blessed him and said, Are you my son Esau? He answered: me. Isaac said: give me, I will eat my son's game, so that my soul will bless you. Jacob gave it to him, and he ate; brought him wine, and he drank. Isaac, his father, said to him: Come, kiss me, my son. He came over and kissed him. And Isaac smelled his clothes and blessed him and said, Behold, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field that the Lord has blessed; may God give you from the dew of heaven and from the abundance of the earth, and plenty of bread and wine; May the nations serve you, and may the peoples worship you; be lord over your brothers, and may your mother's sons bow down to you; those who curse you are cursed; those who bless you are blessed!
As soon as Isaac blessed Jacob, and as soon as Jacob went out from the presence of Isaac, his father, Esau, his brother, came from his fishing. He also prepared food, and brought it to his father, and said to his father: Arise, my father, and eat your son's game, so that your soul will bless me. Isaac, his father, said to him: Who are you? He said: I am your son, your firstborn, Esau. And Isaac trembled with a very great trembling, and said, Who is this that took out game and brought it to me, and I ate of everything, before you came and I blessed him? He will be blessed. Esau, having heard the words of his father, raised a loud and very bitter cry and said to his father: My father! Bless me too. But he said: your brother came with a trick and took your blessing. And Esau said, Isn't that why the name Jacob was given to him, because he has already kicked me twice? He took my birthright, and now, now he took my blessing. And he said again: Haven't you left me a blessing? Isaac answered Esau, Behold, I have made him lord over you, and have given him all his brothers as slaves; gave him bread and wine; what will I do for you, my son? But Esau said to his father: Is it possible, my father, that you have one blessing? Bless me too, my father! And Esau lifted up his voice and wept. And Isaac, his father, answered him: Behold, from the abundance of the earth will your habitation be, and from the dew of heaven from above; and you will live by your sword and serve your brother; the time will come when you will resist and cast off his yoke from your neck. Esau is the ancestor of the Edomites, from the sons of Jacob came 12 tribes of the people of Israel, i.e. Jacob is the father of the Jews. 
31. Old Testament. The second sector of the right wall of the nave.
Isaac refuses Esau.
Jacob's act - no comment.
Here we see a clearly defined space, appealing in many ways to the visual perception of a person, his ability to distinguish what is in front and what is behind: a sheet of light ocher color, the edges of which are clearly separated from the bed located under it, a partially parted curtain and horizontal bars, who support him - one in the foreground, the other in the background, the angle of the side wall with an oblique opening in it, light columns in the foreground and windows in partial shade on the wall in the depths, a halo around the head of Isaac, cutting the head of the maid supporting him in the middle, and so on Further. |
32. Wall above the entrance. Some scenes from the New Testament are attributed to Giotto,
but not all researchers agree with this.
Above the front door, Giotto placed the Madonna and Child, and two Angels on the sides. Despite the fact that they have suffered noticeably over time, these images remain among the most beautiful in the Upper Church, primarily because of the full rounded forms of the figure of Mary, the visual persuasiveness of her light veil, and the strong rendering of her left hand. On the lips of the Child is the first smile in the history of Italian painting.
32. Detail. Trinity (descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles).
32. Detail. Ascension.
32. Detail. Apostle Paul.
32. Detail. Apostle Peter.
33. The second sector of the left wall of the nave.
34. Ceiling in the first sector of the nave. Church Fathers
(a group of church writers of the past, whose authority had a special weight in shaping the dogma, organization, and worship of the Church).
Blzh. Jerome of Stridon (the creator of the canonical Latin text of the Bible, the epithet blessed is usually used only in Orthodoxy), St. Ambrose of Milan (preacher and hymnographer, baptized Blessed Augustine, influenced the policy of Emperor Theodosius the Great), biography of Ambrose, blzh. Augustine (the most influential preacher, Christian theologian and politician), biography of Augustine, St. Gregory I the Great (Pope of Rome, compiled the rite of the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, through his labors to a large extent shaped the new Christian West).
Four characters are given, accompanied by their novices-secretaries, the half-figure of Christ is written on a cloud above.
Objects and figures are rendered converging towards the top of the triangular field that includes them; they almost succeed in realizing a sort of "bottom-up" point of view (di sotto in su): the convergence to the top is likened to a perspective contraction upwards. But these images are interesting primarily because for the first time in the history of painting they contain polychrome effects of pure marbles inlaid with "Kosmatov" ornaments (decorative decorations from small pieces distributed by Roman marble makers. Originally introduced into practice by masters of the Kosmat family, originally from Yugoslavia) and profiled cornices of different colors; the same marbles that cover the most famous basilicas erected in Central and Southern Italy, or constitute in them the material for obligatory furnishings: ambos, episcopal thrones, altars, tabernacles, and so on.
There was a striking attention to reality here. Painting reveals such an ability to reproduce wooden furniture in a fresco, gives it such tactile evidence that it gives the impression of a "deception of the eye" (trompel "oeil). Some objects are reproduced in the smallest details of their functional features: for example, the music stand of the novice St. Gregory or a scroll on which he writes - even reproduced on it decorative trim two holes for a fastening cord tied to one of these holes
LOWER CHURCH
Frescoes by Simone Martini in the Chapel of St. Martina
The first chapel on the left bears the name of Saint Martin of Tours. The consecration and decoration of the chapel was commissioned in 1312 by Gentile Partina da Montefiore, a Franciscan friar who took the title of Cardinal San Martino ai Monti. This was to determine the choice of the theme of the paintings - scenes from the life of St. Martin. Cardinal Gentile left a significant amount of money for them to the monks of Assisi, 600 gold florins. He was an influential prelate who actively participated in the affairs of the church and was close to the House of Angevin: it is believed that thanks to his mediation, the nephew of Robert of Naples, Caroberto, ascended the Hungarian throne. The murals were made in 1317-1319. Only at the end of the 18th century, the frescoes of the chapel were attributed to the artist Simone Martini. Sebastiano Rangyashi, an antiquary from Gubbio, was the first to do this. The attribution was confirmed about a century later by Cavalca-selle in his famous work on Italian painting. This work is one of the best works of the artist and is one of the greatest examples of painting of the XIV century.
The use of lead white has led to the fact that some elements of the frescoes have become very dark over the years.
For a long time between the rulers of Anjou in Naples and the Franciscan order, or rather that part of it that more strictly adhered to the vow of poverty - that is, spirituals, or fraticelli - maintained good relations. Louis himself renounced the throne to become a friar, and steadfastly observed the Franciscan rule of absolute poverty.
| Saint Martin of Tours(lat. Martinus, 316 or 317 Roman province of Pannonia - November 11, 397, Touraine, France) - Archbishop of Tours, one of the most revered saints. Commemorated October 12th. Saint Martin was born at the beginning of the 4th century. in Pannonia. From early youth, almost from childhood, he dreamed of monasticism, having in front of him a heroic example to follow in the person of St. Anthony the Great. However, Martin grew up in a non-Christian family, and his father insisted on his military career. It was then that the saint ended up in Gaul, where he served as an officer. While still a military commander, one winter he tore his cloak and gave half of it to a completely naked man. Pious tradition identifies this beggar with Christ. When the opportunity presented itself to leave the army, Martin retired to the Liguge desert, near Poitiers, where a small monastery soon arose around him, which, according to the author of the life, became a hotbed of monastic work in Gaul. It is important to note that Martin spread the traditions of Eastern, Egyptian monasticism in the West, following St. Anthony in everything. Soon, by deceit (in order to pray for one sick person), the saint was summoned to the city of Tours and proclaimed a bishop. Before that, he himself had avoided ordination even to the diaconate, preferring the more modest position of an exorcist - a reader of special prayers over the possessed. Martin was characterized by rare kindness and caring. In combination with the courageous and stately appearance of the former military man, this especially disposed people to him. Martin constantly took care of the sick, the poor, the hungry, having received the title of the Merciful for this. At the same time, the saint did not abandon his dream of monasticism. Having occupied the hierarchical chair in Tours, Martin almost simultaneously founded a monastery in Marmoutier, where the usual rules for Eastern monasticism were established: the community of property, unconditional obedience, the desire for silence, a single meal during the day, coarse and simple clothing. In his monastery, where he himself often retired for prayer, St. Martin paid special attention to the deed of prayer and the study of Holy Scripture. Many bishops came from Marmoutier, who labored in spreading Christian enlightenment among the pagan Celts. On the scope of St. Martina says that about two thousand monks gathered at his funeral in 397 (while in Marmoutier itself the number of brethren did not exceed 80 people). Saint Martin reposed in the Lord while praying in Candes, in a church located above the confluence of the Vienne and Loire rivers. The locals wanted to bury him at home, but the people of Tours stole the body, exposing the window of the temple, and went with him back upstream in boats. According to local tradition, despite autumn time along the way, flowers bloomed and birds sang. Eastern traditions were organic for the then Gaul: after all, it received Christian enlightenment from Irenaeus of Lyons, a former student of Polycarp of Smyrna, who, in turn, was directly connected with the Apostle John the Theologian, the head of the Asia Minor Church. No saint has enjoyed such posthumous fame in the Christian West as Martin of Tours. None of the ancient martyrs can compare with him in this respect. Thousands of temples and settlements bearing his name testify to his veneration. For medieval France (and for Germany) he was a national saint. His basilica at Type was the greatest religious center of Merovingian and Carolingian France, his mantle (sarra) was the state shrine of the Frankish kings. Even more significant is the fact that his life, compiled by a contemporary, Sulpicius Severus, served as a model for the entire hagiographic literature of the West. The first life of a Western ascetic - it inspired many generations of Christians to the ascetic feat. It was for them, after the Gospel, and perhaps even before the Gospel, the first spiritual food, the most important school of asceticism. The monastery in Liguzh exists to this day. |
| Martini(Martini) Simone (circa 1284, Siena - July 1344, Avignon, France), Italian painter. A follower and possibly a student of Duccio da Buoninsegna, he was influenced by French late Gothic art. In addition to Tuscany, he worked in Naples (1317), Orvieto (1320), Assisi (1320s) and Avignon (since 1340). In the works of M. (frescoes: "Maesta" in the Palazzo Public in Siena, 1315, scenes from the life of St. Martin of Tours in the Lower Church of San Francesco in Assisi, about 1326, the image of the condottiere Guidoriccio da Fogliano in the Palazzo Public in Siena, 1328; altar image: "Saint Louis of Toulouse, crowning Robert of Naples", about 1317, National Museum and Gallery of Capodimonte, Naples; "Annunciation", 1333, Uffizi Gallery, Florence; "Passion of the Lord", 1340s, Art Gallery, Berlin-Dahlem, and other museums) the ideals of the late chivalric culture with its inherent subtle spiritualism, love for exquisite lines and silhouettes and emotionally express color are gradually becoming dominant. Working in Avignon, M. became close to Petrarch and performed for him a portrait of Laura (lost) and the frontispiece to the manuscript of Virgil (Ambrosian Library, Milan). |
The cycle of the life of St. Martin.
Diagram of the cycle of frescoes in the chapel.
Each of the frescoes is surrounded by a frame with a geometric ornament, which originally contained inscriptions commenting on the images; now, unfortunately, they are almost obliterated and cannot be read.
The story of the life of St. Martin is given to Simone in a new way, with a touch of personal relationship. His story unfolds in the real atmosphere of court life, with knights, stablemen, musicians, recreating the environment typical of the aristocratic courts of the 14th century.
1. Saint Martin gives half of his cloak to a beggar
2. Dream of St. Martina
3. St. Martin is knighted
4. St. Martin refuses weapons
5. The Miracle of the Resurrection of a Child
6. Meditations of St. Martina
7. Miraculous Mass
8. Miracle with fire
9. Death of St. Martina
10. Burial of St. Martina
* 11. Anthony of Padua and Francis of Assisi
* 12. Mary Magdalene and Catherine of Alexandria
* 13. Louis of France and Louis of Toulouse
* 14. Clara of Assisi and Elizabeth of Hungary
The image of eight saints was not included in the original program of the chapel painting. They were painted in 1317 in honor of the recent canonization of Louis of Toulouse, who is represented here in a beautiful radiant halo. In the choice of saints, the will of the rulers of the Angevin dynasty is clearly discernible. Along with Saints Francis, Clara and Anthony (a tribute to the order to which the basilica belonged), there are characters associated with Robert of Naples. Louis of Toulouse was his older brother, Elizabeth of Hungary was his mother's aunt Mary, Louis IX, King of France, was his grandfather, and Mary Magdalene and Catherine were saints, to whom his father Charles II treated with special religious reverence.
1. Chapel of St. Martin. Saint Martin gives half of his cloak to a beggar
On a frosty winter morning, passing by a beggar covered only in miserable rags, Martin gave him half of his cloak. On the left you can see the scene of the incident, the city of Amiens with battlements and towers, on the right in the upper part of the composition - the head. Initially, Simone planned the image differently, but then changed his plan and covered the wall with another layer of plaster, made a new synopia (sketch). The previously written face, painted over with blue paint, eventually showed through on the surface of the painting.
2. Chapel of St. Martin. Dream of St. Martin. In a dream, St. Martin saw Christ wearing that half of the cloak
which Martin gave to the beggar.
Martin is shown sleeping under a typical Sienese blanket; the white sheet and pillow are decorated with embroidery, very fashionable at that time, called "openwork thread". The tense posture of the sleeper testifies to his intense spiritual response to what Christ said, and the hand placed on his chest reflects excitement, as if he really hears the voice of the Lord.
3. Chapel of St. Martin. St. Martin is knighted
The depicted scene reproduces a Neapolitan ceremony that the artist himself went through. Emperor Giuliano girds Martin with a belt with a sword. On the right, the squire is fixing the spurs. On the left, the squires hold the insignia of knighthood - a helmet and a falcon.
Although the emperor Julian the Apostate is represented on the fresco (from a historical point of view, no one else can be here), it seems that the features of Constantine the Great are reproduced in his appearance.
In an effort to bring characters from the distant past closer to the viewer, medieval artists showed them in costumes of the 13th century and in a Gothic setting.
4. Chapel of St. Martin. St. Martin renounces weapons
To avoid being accused of cowardice, St. Martin stated that he would fight armed only with a cross.
5. Chapel of St. Martin. The Miracle of the Resurrection of a Child
During one of Martin's sermons, a woman with a dead child in her arms approached him, begging him to help her. The saint knelt in prayer, and suddenly, amidst the general amazement of those present, the child came to life. Joel Brink noted that Simone did not adhere here to the traditional biographies of the Saint (everywhere they describe a miracle that happened in the countryside near Chartres), introducing into the event elements of the legend popular at that time in Siena.
This legend has been transmitted orally for centuries, and has come down to us from a source of 1637; she tells how, during his pilgrimage to Rome, Martin came to a Tuscan town, where he performed such a great miracle that a church was erected in his honor. The miracle was associated with the resurrection, so it is clear that the artist mixed these two episodes and changed the topography, depicting the city of Siena instead of the village near Chartres.
The city center is indicated by the building on the right side of the composition, whose architecture (rectangular battlements at the top, mezzanine windows separated by two columns and the Sienese arch above the entrance) can be identified with the Palazzo Pubblico. The Palazzo is captured at the initial stage of its construction, until 1325, when the Torre del Mangia tower was erected on its left side.
In order to give immediacy and signs of modernity to an event that took place almost a thousand years ago, Simone went even further: the crowd in the fresco does not consist of pagans alone (as indicated in hagiographic sources), but of a wide variety of characters. A corpulent monk raises his gaze to a tree towering above the stage; he is very similar to Gentile da Montefiore. Some of those present piously pray, others, like a knight in a blue headdress, express surprise and even skepticism (the other knight looks at him gloomily, as if with disapproval).
6. Chapel of St. Martin. Reflections of St. Martina
Martin, Bishop of Tours, is depicted seated on a simple folding chair in a state of deep spiritual ecstasy, two clergymen are trying to bring him back to reality so that he can say Mass in the chapel visible in the back of the scene: one of them gently touches his shoulder, the other holds out his servant.
Both architectural spaces, parallel, but not identical in depth, in their strictly geometric structure seem to be consonant with the state of absolute immersion of the Saint in prayer; the only decorative elements that adorn them are the horizontal stripes of the Greek ornament and the quatrefoil in the arched completion of the window.
7. Chapel of St. Martin. Miraculous Mass
It is believed that the event depicted took place in Albenga, and then repeated in Amiens. Having donated his cloak to the beggar, Martin decided to celebrate mass. During it, at the moment of the highest rise, two angels appeared and handed over to the Saint a piece of precious fabric. The expression of surprise on the deacon's face and his fearful gesture are beautiful in their immediacy: in confusion, he instinctively stretches out his hand to the bishop. The composition is skillfully built on a combination of forms with linear motifs (lamps, a cover on the altar) and denser geometric volumes - the altar, the elevation leading to it and the duct vault.
8. Chapel of St. Martin. Miracle with fire
Like the Miracle of the Resurrection of a Boy, this mural is badly damaged. The artist depicted the moment when flames engulfed the throne of Emperor Valentinian, who refused to accept the Saint. The ruler reaches out to Martin, trying to hug him. The gesture of the character on the far left, who put his hand to his lips in amazement, is very truthfully conveyed. The stage is built on the ratio of various architectural structures, including arches of various types: lancet, semicircular, four-span.
Double-height windows are also presented in two versions - lancet Gothic and more characteristic of the Romanesque style. Pilasters, battlements and loggias create a dynamic effect.
9. Chapel of St. Martin. Death of St. Martina
10. Chapel of St. Martin. Burial of St. Martina
Both scenes feature the same characters with repetitive facial features, but shown in different poses and with different gestures. The priest performing the ritual over the dead also appears in the Funeral service between two figures with halos above their heads. A church minister with a tonsure, in a green-red robe, who looks thoughtfully upwards in the episode of Death, in the Funeral, supports the bishop's dalmatic. And, finally, how not to note the image of a knight under a small aedicule in the fresco of the Death of St. Martin, so reminiscent of Robert of Anjou in the altar from Naples.
A notable feature of these compositions is the correlation of architectural backgrounds with the nature of the depicted situation: a harsh geometric structure with almost bare walls in the Death of St. Martin and, on the contrary, an elegant and finely decorated Gothic chapel in the Funeral Service. The spatial construction of each of the scenes in the murals of the chapel deserves special attention. With regard to the transfer of three-dimensional forms and perspectives, Simone, of course, owes a lot to the Florentine Giotto.
Images of saints (frescoes by Simone Martini):
* 11. Chapel of St. Martin. Anthony of Padua and Francis of Assisi
| Anthony of Padua(lat. Antonius Patavinus, August 15, 1195 - June 13, 1231) - Fernando de Bouillon (port. Fernando de Bulhoes) - Catholic saint, preacher, one of the most famous Franciscans. Commemorated June 13th. The future great saint was born in 1195 in the family of the noble Lisbon knight Martin de Bouillon. At baptism, the boy received the name Fernando. The boy grew up alive and restless, and his father had no doubt that he would follow in his footsteps and choose the knightly path. But at a young age, Fernando decided to become a monk and entered the Lisbon monastery of St. Vincent, which belonged to the order of canons regular (a branch of the Augustinians). A few years later, the young monk became disillusioned with the reclusive monastic life. The death of his father in the battle with the Moors at Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212, as well as the martyrdom in Morocco of five Franciscans whom Fernando met when they passed through Lisbon, aroused in him an ardent desire to preach the Gospel. In the depths of his soul, he dreamed of a martyr's crown, believing that death could not be more beautiful than death for faith. In 1220, Fernando left the order of canons regular and became a Franciscan, taking the monastic name Anthony. In the same year, he made an attempt to fulfill his dream and, accompanied by a Franciscan named Philip, went to Morocco to preach Christianity to Muslims. However, a serious illness that overtook Antony in Africa forced them to abandon their plans and return to Europe. During the return, the ship fell into a severe storm, and was eventually washed up on the shores of Sicily. Anthony saw God's will in this and decided to stay in Italy. Until his death, he no longer saw his homeland. From Sicily, Anthony went to the general chapter of the Franciscan order, where he met the founder of the order, St. Francis of Assisi. After the chapter, Anthony, at his request, was sent to the remote monastery of Monte Paolo near the city of Forli, where he led an unremarkable quiet life, until one day at a festival in Forli, to the surprise of everyone and to his own amazement, he won a friendly competition. all eminent orators, both of his order and of the Dominicans. Soon he was sent to study with the famous theologian Thomas Gallon, and after finishing his studies, Anthony himself began to teach theology at the University of Bologna. At the next chapter of the order, Francis of Assisi instructed Anthony to preach in the cities of northern Italy, seized by the heresy of the Cathars. Antony went straight to Rimini, the city where the Cathars had the most supporters. Anthony's fiery sermons and the miracles he performed quickly returned the city to the bosom of the Church, after which the saint continued his preaching among the heretics already in the south of France. Sermon of St. Anthony was successful even in Toulouse, a city owned by the Albigensian leader Raymond of Toulouse. In 1224, Anthony became abbot of a Franciscan monastery near the town of Le Puy. The fame of his preaching, miracles and virtuous life became wider, he was called the "Light of the Order." At the next chapter, Anthony was elected provincial of southern France, then he visited Sicily, where he founded several new monasteries, and then he was elected provincial of Northern Italy, where it was restless - the Guelphs fought with the Ghibellines, tyrant princes fought with each other or robbed on the roads. It took all the power of the oratorical talent of St. Anthony and the painstaking work of his brethren to bring people to peace. The bloodiest tyrant of Italy, Ezzelino da Romano, was so shocked by the courage of the saint, who alone came to his castle, that he released the captives imprisoned in the castle. Pope Gregory IX offered Anthony an honorary post in the Roman Curia, but the saint refused. His last years of life were spent in Padua. After death Saint Anthony was canonized almost immediately after his death - in 1232. In 1263, his relics were transferred to the magnificent cathedral that the people of Padua built in honor of the saint. At the same time, it turned out that the language of the great preacher remained safe and sound. On January 16, 1946, Pope Pius XII proclaimed Saint Anthony of Padua a Doctor of the Church. veneration Saint Anthony is considered the patron saint of Lisbon and Padua. The city of San Antonio in the United States is named after him. He is also considered the patron saint of the poor and travelers. Saint Anthony is addressed as an assistant in finding lost values. Since the end of the 19th century, the custom has spread to call donations for the poor, collected in the church - "bread of St. Anthony." Saint Anthony was considered their patron by numerous church brotherhoods. There is a small monastic women's congregation - the "sisters of St. Anthony", engaged in charitable activities. |
* 12. Chapel of St. Martin. Mary Magdalene and Catherine of Alexandria
| Mary Magdalene- a character of the New Testament, a devoted follower of Jesus Christ, a Christian saint, a myrrh-bearing woman, who, according to the gospel text, followed Christ, was present at the Crucifixion and was a witness to His posthumous appearance. In the Orthodox and Catholic churches, the veneration of Magdalene is different: Orthodoxy venerates her exclusively as a myrrh-bearing woman, cured of seven demons and appearing only in a few gospel episodes, and in the tradition of the Catholic Church for a long time it was customary to identify with her the image of the penitent harlot and Mary of Bethany, as well as apply extensive legendary material. Gospel Testimonies of Mary Magdalene She came from the Galilean city of Magdala in the tribe of Issachar, near Capernaum. In the New Testament, the name of Mary Magdalene is mentioned only in a few episodes: She was healed by Jesus Christ from being possessed by seven demons (Luke 8:2) Then she began to follow Christ, serving him and sharing her property (Mark 15:40-41, Luke 8:3) Then she was present at Golgotha at the death of the Lord (Matt. 27:56, etc.) After that, she witnessed his burial (Matt. 27:61, etc.) And also became one of the myrrh-bearing women, to whom the angel announced the Resurrection (Mark 16: 1-8) She was the first to see the resurrected Jesus, at first she mistook him for a gardener, but when she found out, she rushed to touch him. Christ did not allow her to do this (Noli me tangere), but instead instructed her to announce to the apostles about his resurrection (John 20:11-18). Nickname The nickname "Magdalene", which this evangelical Mary bore, is traditionally deciphered as "a native of the city of Migdal-El." Also cf. from Heb. migdal and Aramaic. magdala - "tower", the literal meaning of this toponym: since the tower is a feudal and knightly symbol, in the Middle Ages this shade was transferred to the personality of Mary and aristocratic features were betrayed to her. It has also been suggested that the nickname "Magdalene" may come from the Talmudic expression magadella, "curling her hair." A character called "Miriam curling women's hair" appears in a number of Talmudic texts associated with Jesus, with one of them referring to her as an adulteress. It is possible that stories about Mary Magdalene were reflected in these texts. Among medieval writers unfamiliar with Hebrew and ancient Greek, etymologies are most often fantastic: “Magdalene” can be interpreted as “constantly accused” (lat. manens rea), etc. veneration In the Orthodox tradition In Orthodoxy, she is revered as an Equal-to-the-Apostles saint, relying only on the gospel testimonies listed above. Byzantine literature tells how, some time after the Crucifixion, Magdalene went to Ephesus with the Virgin Mary to John the Theologian and helped him in his labors. (It is worth noting that it is John who provides the most information about Magdalene out of the four evangelists). It is believed that Mary Magdalene preached the gospel in Rome, as evidenced by the appeal to her in the letter of the Apostle Paul to the Romans (Rom. 16:6). Probably, in connection with this journey, an Easter legend associated with her name arose. The death of Mary Magdalene was peaceful, she died in Ephesus, possibly from an illness. The Orthodox tradition does not identify Mary Magdalene with the evangelical sinner, but venerates her exclusively as an Equal-to-the-Apostles holy myrrh-bearer, from whom demons were simply cast out. Easter legend The emergence of the tradition of Easter eggs is associated with Mary Magdalene: according to legend, when Mary came to the emperor Tiberius and announced the Resurrection of Christ, the emperor said that it was just as impossible as for a chicken egg to be red, and after these words, a chicken egg, which he was holding turned red. Obviously, the legend belongs to the very late Middle Ages (since it was not included in the extensive collection "Golden Legend" of the XIII-XIV centuries). |
| Catherine of Alexandria(before the baptism of Dositheus; 287 - 305) - Christian great martyr. Memory is celebrated in the Orthodox Church on November 24 (according to the Julian calendar), in the Catholic Church - on November 25. biography She was born in Alexandria in 287. She was the daughter of Constas, ruler of Alexandria of Egypt, during the reign of Emperor Maximinus (305-313). Living in the capital - the center of Hellenic learning, Catherine, who had a rare beauty and intelligence, received an excellent education, having studied the works of the best ancient philosophers and scientists. Young men from the most eminent families of the empire sought the hand of the beautiful Catherine, but none of them became her chosen one. She announced to her parents that she agreed to marry only someone who surpassed her in nobility, wealth, beauty and wisdom. Catherine's mother, a secret Christian, took her for advice to her spiritual father, the holy elder, who performed a deed of prayer in solitude in a cave not far from the city. After listening to Catherine, the elder said that he knows the Young Man, who surpasses her in everything, for "His beauty is brighter than the sunshine, His wisdom governs all creation, His wealth is spilled all over the world, but this does not reduce it, but multiplies it, the height of His kind - unspeakable." The image of the Heavenly Bridegroom gave birth in the soul of the holy virgin to an ardent desire to see Him. The truth, to which her soul yearned, was revealed to her. In parting, the elder handed Catherine the icon of the Mother of God with the Divine Infant Jesus in her arms and told her to pray with faith to the Queen of Heaven - the Mother of the Heavenly Bridegroom for the granting of a vision of Her Son. Catherine prayed all night and was honored to see the Blessed Virgin, Who asked Her Divine Son to look at Catherine kneeling before Them. But the Child turned His face away from her, saying that He could not look at her, because she was ugly, thin-born, poor and insane, like any person not washed by the waters of holy Baptism and not sealed with the seal of the Holy Spirit. In deep sadness, Catherine again went to the elder. He received her with love, instructed her in the faith of Christ, commanded her to keep purity and chastity and pray unceasingly, and performed the sacrament of holy Baptism over her. And again Saint Catherine had a vision of the Most Holy Theotokos with the Child. Now the Lord tenderly looked at her and gave her a ring, betrothing her to Himself. When the vision ended and the saint woke up from her sleep, a ring shone on her hand - a wondrous gift from the Heavenly Bridegroom. At this time, Emperor Maximin himself arrived in Alexandria for a pagan festival. On this occasion, the celebration was especially magnificent and crowded. The cries of the sacrificial animals, the smoke and stench of the altars that burned incessantly, the hubbub of the crowd on the stadiums filled Alexandria. Human sacrifices were also made - confessors of Christ who did not depart from Him under torture were doomed to death in the fire. Holy love for the Christian martyrs and a heartfelt desire to alleviate their plight prompted Catherine to go to the chief priest and ruler of the empire, the persecuting emperor Maximinus. Having named herself, the saint confessed her faith in the One True God and wisely exposed the errors of the pagans. The beauty of the girl captivated the ruler. To convince her and show the triumph of pagan wisdom, the emperor ordered to convene 50 most learned men of the empire, but the saint took precedence over the sages, so that they themselves believed in Christ. Saint Catherine overshadowed the martyrs with the sign of the cross, and they courageously accepted death for Christ and were burnt at the command of the emperor. Maximinus, no longer hoping to convince the saint, tried to seduce her with the promise of wealth and fame. Having received an angry refusal, the emperor ordered that the saint be subjected to cruel tortures, and then thrown into prison. The Empress Augusta, who had heard a lot about Saint Catherine, wished to see her. Having persuaded the governor Porfiry with a detachment of soldiers to accompany her, Augusta came to the dungeon. The Empress was struck by the strength of the spirit of St. Catherine, whose face shone with Divine grace. The holy martyr revealed the Christian teaching to those who came, and having believed, they turned to Christ. The next day, the martyr was again brought to the court, where, under the threat of being struck on the wheel, they offered her to renounce the Christian faith and offer sacrifice to the gods. She was shown four wooden wheels arranged along the same axis. Iron points were attached to the wheels: two wheels rotated to the right, and the other two to the left. Tied to the center of a man, these spinning wheels would shatter. The saint adamantly confessed Christ and herself approached the wheels, but the Angel crushed the instruments of execution, and they shattered into pieces, killing many pagans. Seeing this miracle, the empress Augusta and the courtier Porfiry Stratilates with 200 soldiers confessed their faith in Christ in front of everyone and were beheaded. Maximin again tried to seduce the holy martyr by offering her marriage, and was again refused. Saint Catherine firmly confessed her fidelity to her Heavenly Bridegroom - Christ, and with a prayer to Him, she herself laid her head on the chopping block under the executioner's sword. According to legend, milk flowed out of the wound instead of blood. After the execution of Saint Catherine, her body disappeared. According to legend, it was carried by angels to the top of the high mountain Sinai, now bearing her name. Three centuries later, in the middle of the 6th century, the monks of the monastery of the Transfiguration, built by the emperor Justinian (527-565), obeying a vision, climbed the mountain, found the remains of St. Catherine there, identified them by the ring that had been given to her by Jesus Christ, and transferred the relics in church. After the acquisition by the monks of the monastery of the Transfiguration of the relics of St. Catherine and the spread of her cult, the monastery acquired its real name by the 11th century - the monastery of St. Catherine. |
* 13. Chapel of St. Martin. Louis of France and Louis of Toulouse
| Louis IX Saint(fr. Louis IX, Saint Louis), April 25, 1214 - August 25, 1270) - King of France since 1226. Son of Louis VIII and Blanche of Castile. Leader of the 7th and 8th Crusades. Characteristic. Beginning of the reign Louis's mother, Blanca of Castile, a woman of great intelligence, outstanding willpower and extremely religious, had a tremendous influence on the development of her son. Upon the death of her husband, she became regent and ruled with extraordinary intelligence and dexterity, strengthening the authority of royal power and expanding the possessions of France. Handsome and graceful, Louis was interested in all sorts of knightly amusements in his youth. In 1234 he married Marguerite, daughter of the Count of Provence. The entry of the king into the government changed little the policy of the government: the royal power was already so strong that it was not difficult for Louis to maintain his authority against the vassals. The English king Henry III tried to return the possessions of his ancestors (regions along the Garonne), but Louis won a brilliant victory at Taliebourg (1242). Guided by the principles of justice, he did not take advantage of the victory, rejected the favorite dream of the French kings - to take possession of Aquitaine, and contrary to the opinion of his advisers, he ceded to Henry part of the provinces taken from England under Philip-August. Seventh Crusade In 1244, the king fell seriously ill and vowed to lay a cross on himself, i.e. take part in the crusade. Having received a banner, a baldric and a pilgrim's staff in Saint-Denis and asking for the blessing of the pope in Lyon, Louis and the crusaders arrived in Cyprus in September 1248, and in the spring of 1249 in Egypt, to Damietta, which the French took on June 6. Moving on, Louis approached Mansur (1250), but the forces of the crusaders were weakened by strife and unrest. During their retreat to Damietta, the Saracens overtook Louis and took him prisoner, from whom he paid off by surrendering Damietta. In May 1250, Louis sailed from Egypt, but remained 4 years (1250-54) in Syria, waiting for new crusaders. With his moral influence, Louis supported Christians in Palestine, established relations with Asian sovereigns, and undertook work to strengthen Jaffa, Caesarea and Sidon. His fame spread far and wide. After receiving the news of his mother's death, Louis returned to France after a six-year absence and zealously set about state affairs. State activity Louis was not at enmity with the system of feudalism and respected the rights of vassals, although he was no longer the first among equals, but a sovereign. Louis did a lot for the reform of the court and judicial proceedings. The shortcomings of the feudal system, which did not allow the supreme court in the kingdom, Louis eliminated by establishing how general principle the power of the king to intervene in the affairs of his subjects. Louis forbade judicial duel and private wars; dissatisfied with the decision of local courts received the right to appeal to the royal court. Louis inspired unlimited confidence: even foreigners gave their disputes to his decision. There is a story about how Louis left the palace after mass, sat under an oak tree and listened to the complaints of everyone. Under Louis, the king's judicial power expanded considerably; The central judicial institution was the Parisian Parliament, which consisted of peers and lawyers. All branches of administration were under the watchful eye of Louis. Legists enjoyed great influence, whose activities greatly contributed to the expansion of royal power. Under Louis, a set of customary laws and laws issued in his reign ("Etablissements de St. Louis") was compiled. Louis with dignity defended the interests of France from the claims of Rome. The French clergy stood more for Louis and for the interests of secular power than for the papacy. In March 1269, Louis promulgated the “Pragmatic Sanction”, which protected the independence of the French Church from Rome, eliminated monetary requisitions and contributions in favor of the Roman court, etc. During the fight between Frederick II and Innocent IV, Louis openly condemned the actions of the pope. patron of the arts Louis loved books and art. It is called the Pericles of medieval architecture. He diligently erected temples: the cathedral in Reims, the lovely church of Sainte Chapelle in Paris, and others belong to his time. Eighth Crusade. Death in Tunisia and canonization The failure of the Seventh Crusade did nothing to dampen Louis's enthusiasm. In March 1270, he went to Tunis, hoping for an appeal from the local sultan. While waiting for the arrival of Charles of Anjou, Louis did nothing. Diseases developed in the army; Louis' son Tristan died, on August 3 Louis himself fell ill, and on August 25 he died. The body of the king was transported by Charles of Anjou to Sicily and buried in the cathedral of Monreale, where even now an urn with his insides is kept in the altar dedicated to Louis. Subsequently, the remains of Louis were transferred to Saint-Denis. Immediately after the death of Louis, the question of his canonization was raised by his son, France and Europe, who unanimously glorified the holiness of the pious king. In 1297, a bull of Pope Boniface VIII proclaimed him a saint. in the name of St. Louis, many Catholic churches are named both in France and abroad, including the Church of St. Louis of France in Moscow. Family and Children Wife: (from May 27, 1234, Cathedral, Sens) Margaret of Provence (1221-1295), daughter of Raymond Berengar IV (c. 1198-1245), Count of Provence, and Beatrice of Savoy (d. 1266). Had 11 children: Blanca (1240 - April 29, 1243) Isabella (March 2, 1241 - January 28, 1271), wife of King Thibault II of Navarre (since 1255) Louis (25 February 1244 – January 1260), was betrothed to Berengaria of Castile Philip III (May 1, 1245 - October 5, 1285), successor to Louis on the royal throne Jean (1247 - 1248) Jean-Tristan (1250 - August 3, 1270), Count of Nevers, married Yolande of Burgundy (since 1269) Pierre (1251 - April 6, 1284), Count of Alençon, Count of Blois and Chartres by wife. Left no heirs. After his death, his widow Jeanne de Blois (1258 – 19 January 1291) sold the County of Blois to King Philip IV Blanca (1253 - 1323), wife of Fernando de la Cerda (1253-1275), eldest son and failed heir of Alphonse X the Wise, King of Castile Marguerite (1254 - 1271), wife of Jean I, Duke of Brabant (since 1270) Robert (1256 - February 7, 1317), Comte de Clermont, by wife Seigneur de Bourbon. He lost his mind as a result of an unfortunate fall from a horse in a tournament. The founder of the House of Bourbon, which later became the royal dynasty in France (1589-1792, 1814-1830), Spain (1701-1808, 1813-1868, 1874-1931, since 1975), the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (1734-1859). His direct male line descendants are currently kings in Spain (Juan Carlos I), grand dukes in Luxembourg (Henry I) Agnes (1260 - December 19, 1327), wife of Robert II, Duke of Burgundy (since 1279) |
| Saint Louis of Anjou, Bishop of Toulouse (February 9, 1274, Nocera - August 19, 1297, Brignoles) - the second son of Charles II the Lame, King of Naples, and Mary of Hungary, great-nephew of Saint Louis. Bishop of Toulouse in 1297. Canonized by the Catholic Church in 1317. During the War of the Sicilian Vespers, Charles II was captured by the Sicilians and was released on condition that a significant ransom was paid and noble hostages were transferred to the enemies (1289). Among the hostages were the king's three sons, including Louis. The princes were taken to Barcelona and entrusted to the care of the Franciscan monks. Upon reaching the age of majority, Louis, who was in captivity, was transferred the archbishopric of Lyon, which was dependent on the French crown, although the prince did not really have the opportunity to fulfill the duties of a bishop. Due to the fact that the elder brother of Louis, Charles Martel, since 1290 devoted himself to the struggle for Hungary and was crowned as king of Hungary, Louis became a potential heir to the Kingdom of Naples. After the death of Charles Martel (August 19, 1295), who never achieved real power in Hungary, but passed on his Hungarian claims to his children, Louis finally became the heir to Charles II. Released from Aragonese captivity in 1295, Louis arrived in Rome and announced his renunciation of his dynastic rights in favor of his next brother, Robert. Renouncing the future crown, Louis of Anjou entered the Franciscan order, taking vows of poverty, obedience and chastity. On February 5, 1297, Louis of Anjou was consecrated a bishop and received the vast Diocese of Toulouse in control (subsequently, Pope John XXII divided it into five bishoprics). His appointment to Toulouse was of great importance both for the French king, to whose domain Languedoc was annexed only in 1271, and for the Anjou house, which owned neighboring Provence since 1246. The young bishop, who had previously renounced the Neapolitan crown, realized in his diocese not someone else's political ambitions, but his willingness to serve the poor. His simplicity, Christian service, refusal of luxury earned him love in Languedoc, relatively recently the country of the Albigensians, where the Catholic clergy did not enjoy authority. Louis died at Brignoles on August 19, 1297, where he was buried. The miracles that took place at his grave led to a quick canonization. Already on April 7, 1317, John XXII canonized Louis as a saint. For the French and Neapolitan ruling dynasties, the canonization of Louis of Toulouse was a matter of political authority, since he was already the second Saint Louis among the descendants of Hugh Capet. Saint Louis of Toulouse became especially revered by the Franciscan monks, who in 1423 transferred his relics to Valencia. In Catholic iconography, Saint Louis of Toulouse is depicted as a youth - a bishop, often with a rejected crown at his feet. |
* 14. Chapel of St. Martin. Clara of Assisi and Elizabeth of Hungary
| Clara of Assisi, nee Chiara Offreduccio (July 16, 1194 - August 11, 1253) - Italian saint, one of the first followers of Francis of Assisi and founder of the Clarissinian order. Family, childhood and youth Clara was born the eldest daughter of the nobleman Favarone di Offreduccio and his wife Ortolana. Clara's family was one of the richest and most powerful noble families in Assisi. Clara's line of ancestors can be traced back to Charlemagne. Donna Ortolana, Clara's mother, was a very pious woman who made pilgrimages to Rome, Santiago de Compostela, and the Holy Land. Much later, she entered a monastery founded by her daughter. Little is known about Clara's childhood, but there is evidence that, due to the dangerous political situation in Assisi, she spent part of her childhood in exile, fleeing with her mother and younger sisters Katerina and Beatrice to neighboring Perugia. Clara's parents expressed a desire to marry her shortly after her twelfth birthday, but until her eighteenth birthday, she managed to convince them to postpone their marriage plans. Meeting with Francis Given Assisi's small size, Clara presumably knew the history of Francis' conversion and the dramatic change that took place in him from a wealthy and dissolute merry fellow to a humble young man dressed in beggarly clothes and caring for lepers. In addition, both of the first followers of Francis, Rufino and the priest Sylvester, were her cousins. The observation of this change made a deep impression on the young girl. During Lent in 1212, Francis delivered a series of sermons at the Cathedral of San Rufino in Assisi, which were attended by Clara. She was deeply moved by his words and finally made up her mind to follow Christ after the example of Francis. With the help of her aunt, Clara arranged a secret meeting with Francis. In order to avoid any hint of obscenity, Clara came to the meeting accompanied by a close relative. Francis, who generally avoided all contact with women, including visual contact, was accompanied by brother Philip the Tall. During the meeting, Clara told Francis about her desire to devote her life to Christ. Francis advised her to reject the ways of the world with its vanity and keep her body as a temple for God alone. Realizing that her desire to follow Christ was incompatible with living under her parents' roof and threatening marriage, Clara decided to run away from home. The escape On Palm Sunday, March 18, 1212, Clara, along with her family, went to morning mass at the Cathedral of San Rufino, where she (like Francis himself) had once been baptized. The excitement before the upcoming escape, scheduled for the evening of the same day, and the premonition of parting with her native home, weakened her so much that she could not get up from the church pew when the time came for the distribution of palm branches. Then Guido, Bishop of Assisi, to whom Francis turned for advice regarding Clara - as she was preparing to become the first woman among the followers of Francis, which created some difficulties for the hitherto exclusively male brotherhood - went down to her himself and handed her a consecrated palm branch directly into her hands. He also advised Francis after the escape to temporarily place Clara in the monastery of the Benedictine sisters, as was later done. At nightfall, when everyone in the house was asleep, Clara went out through the porta di mortuccio, a special door for carrying the dead out of the house, which was available in all ancient houses Umbria. In this way, she symbolically showed that she had died to her former life in this house. Outside, Clara was waiting for her cousin, who served as her assistant during the escape. Together with her, they climbed out of the city wall in order to get to Francis in the Portiuncula chapel, which was located outside the city limits of Assisi. There is no exact information about how this happened - although it should be understood that this step was a certain difficulty, since all the medieval cities of Italy were surrounded by a fortress wall, the gates of which were locked at sunset, and the keys were handed over to the storage of the mayor. tonsured Arriving at the Portiuncula, Clara was greeted by brothers with torches, who led her inside the chapel. There she exchanged her elegant dress for coarse Franciscan clothing. Then, at the altar, Francis cut off her long golden hair and shaved her tonsure, and Clara brought her vows to him. According to church law, only a bishop could perform such actions, while Francis was not even an ordinary priest. Therefore, Bishop Guido gave Francis authority in advance for this case. After the ceremony was over, Clara, accompanied by her brother Philip, went to the Benedictine convent of San Paolo, two miles away. There she presented herself as a beggar woman who had no dowry as a gift to the monastery, and was received by the sisters. Family reaction Upon discovering Clara's disappearance the next morning and learning about what had happened, Clara's family were furious and sad because of what she had done. Determined to bring her home, Clara's uncle Monaldo, accompanied by several armed men from the Favarone house, went to the convent of San Paolo, ready to use force to bring Clara back. Their appearance caused a stir in the monastery. At first, they tried to persuade Clara to return, using both threats and flattering promises, persuading her to abandon a case that was not befitting her estate and had no precedents in the family. But, grasping the altar cover, Clara bared her shaved head, insisting that nothing could stop her from serving Christ. Yielding to Clara's passionate protest, the armed men left the walls of the monastery, determined not to use brute force. However, the abbess of the convent was worried that Clara's father might come himself to forcibly take his daughter away. Feeling that Clara was a threat to the convent and the safety of the other nuns, the abbess sent a message to Francis, who took Clara to another Benedictine monastery, San Angelo in Panso, or (as modern researchers suggest) to a certain village of Beguins. But it was clear to both that Clara needed a stable home where she could freely follow the Franciscan path she had chosen. Iconography In iconography, Clara of Assisi is traditionally depicted as a nun dressed in dark monastic robes and holding a monstrance or chalice in her hands. Less common are images with a crucifix, a book and a lily - a symbol of virginity and simplicity. Clara is also depicted in a circle of other Franciscan saints. |
| Elizabeth of Hungary, Elisabeth of Thuringia (July 7, 1207 - November 17, 1231, Marburg, German St. Elisabeth von Thuringen, Hungarian Arpad-hazi Szent Erzsebet) - princess from the Hungarian Arpad dynasty, daughter of the Hungarian king András II, Landgraves of Thuringia, Catholic saint, Franciscan tertiary. Biography Princess Elisabeth was born on July 7, 1207 in Sárospatak, Hungary. She was the third child of András II and his first wife, Gertrude. From the age of four, Elizabeth lived at the court of the landgraves of Thuringia in Marburg and the Wartburg castle near Eisenach, and was considered as the future wife of Prince Louis (Ludwig). When Elizabeth turned 14, she and Louis, who by that time had become the ruler of Thuringia, were married. The marriage turned out to be happy, in total, Louis and Elizabeth had three children: Herman, Sophia and Gertrude. In 1223, the Franciscan friars introduced Elisabeth to the ideals of poverty and charity preached by their order. Franciscanism made a strong impression on Elizabeth, and she decided to live in accordance with its spirit, helping the poor and needy. Conrad of Marburg, a stern preacher of the crusades and an inquisitor, acquired great influence on Elizabeth. In Eisenach, thanks to the landgravine, a large hospital for the poor was built. Elizabeth devoted all her free time to serving the disadvantaged. In prayer images, she is depicted surrounded by beggars and cripples awaiting a cure. Her husband, a rude man, reproached his wife, saying that she was wasting money and food in vain, and when a rumor spread that the landgraves wanted to sell the castle to help those in need, he forbade her to do charity work. The life of Elizabeth tells how one day her husband met her on the street when she carried bread in an apron to give it to the poor. When he opened the apron to see what was in it, he found it full of roses. (The same legend was borrowed by the inhabitants of Spain and Portugal and is told about her great-niece and namesake of St. Isabella of Portugal). The legend of her mercy tells that one day she put a leper baby in her bed. Her husband, returning home, threw back the veil in anger and found not a sick child, but the Christ Child lying there. After these miracles, according to legend, the landgrave allowed his wife to continue her charitable work. In 1226, Ludwig left for Cremona, where he represented Emperor Frederick II in the Reichstag of the Holy Roman Empire. Elizabeth took over the rule in Thuringia, where famine and epidemics raged, caused by a powerful flood. Elizabeth ordered generous alms to be distributed throughout her territory. Even the landgravine's own outfits and church utensils went to help those in need. A year later, Louis took part in the sixth crusade, but in the Italian city of Otranto he contracted the plague and died. After his death, his uncle, brother of Louis Henry, became regent under the juvenile Henry. Elizabeth was removed from the court, but did not return to Hungary and did not go to the monastery. Instead, she took a vow of celibacy and decided to serve the disadvantaged by joining the third Franciscan order (the order of the laity), thus becoming the first German Franciscan tertiary. In 1228, she founded a hospital for the poor in Marburg, where she worked on an equal basis with others. She looked after the sick, and the rest of the time she collected alms for the needs of the hospital. On November 17, 1231, Elisabeth died in Marburg at the age of only 24. veneration In 1235, Pope Gregory IX canonized Elizabeth of Hungary. During the Reformation, in 1539, the relics of St. Elizabeth were seized and desecrated, but a few years later they were returned to Marburg. At present, the relics of the saint are also kept in Vienna, Brussels and Viterbo. Elisabeth of Hungary is considered the patroness of Franciscan tertiaries, health workers, bakers and members of charitable societies. The memory of St. Elizabeth of Hungary in the Catholic Church - November 17. Elizabeth is especially revered in Germany, is considered the patroness of Thuringia and Hesse. Her image is widespread in the art of Northern Europe. For the Franciscans, she is a symbol of female mercy and appears in the works of the Italian painters of this order. |
* Chapel of St. Martin. Consecration of the chapel by a donor ("donor" - customer)
Located on the wall above the entrance to the chapel. The scene is imbued with a mood of deep humility that unites the figures of its two participants. Cardinal Gentile bowed obediently before Saint Martin, who, with the greatest benevolence, helped him to his feet. The church interior, painted in perspective from bottom to top, presents a ciborium in the form of a Gothic structure with a three-lobed lancet arch and pinnacles at the corners and a colored marble balustrade that opens behind it.
Frescoes by Lorenzetti in the left (south) wing of the transept
(if we consider the cathedral as a cross, then the transept is the horizontal bar of the cross)
These frescoes are the main and most famous work of Pietro Lorenzetti. The famous Passion Cycle in the Lower Church in Assisi was the final stage in the painting of the western transept of this temple. The authorship of Pietro Lorenzetti is not documented. It is recognized on the basis of the stylistic similarity first identified in 1864 by Crowe and Cavalcaselle. The dating of these frescoes also does not have an exact definition; according to different specialists, it ranges from 1315 to 1345. However, most researchers accept the point of view that they were created around 1320. In the upper part of the vault are the "Entry of Christ into Jerusalem", "The Last Supper", "The Washing of the Feet", "The Taking into Custody", "The Flagellation of Christ", "The Carrying of the Cross". In the lower parts - "Crucifixion" and "Stigmatization of St. Francis". On the wall - "Descent from the Cross", "The Entombment", "Resurrection", and "Descent into Hell".
Unlike Duccio, Giotto and Simone Martini, whose influence in his work is undeniable, Lorenzetti is characterized by increased expression. His frescoes have everything: attention to everyday details, so characteristic of Sienese painting of the first half of the 14th century, and colorful city views, and a variety of costumes of that time, especially in the costumes of soldiers in the scenes of "Crucifixion" and "Taking into custody".
| Lorenzetti(Lorenzetti), brothers, Italian painters, representatives of the Sienese school of the Trecento era. Pietro L. [circa 1280, Siena, - 1348 (?), ibid], based on the traditions of Duccio di Buoninsegna, reworked them (under the influence of the art of Giotto and Giovanni Pisano), achieving greater physicality and monumentality of images, often used architectural motifs with developed spatial constructions (polyptych in the church of Pieve di Santa Maria in Arezzo, 1320; altarpiece with the "History of the Carmelite Order", 1329, National Pinacoteca, Siena; triptych with "The Birth of Mary", 1342, Museum of the Cathedral, Siena). His murals in the Lower Church of San Francesco in Assisi (1325-29 and after 1340) are imbued with tragic pathos, expressive generalization of forms akin to the art of Giotto, but still retaining the flatness of the composition. Ambrogio L. [d. 1348(?), Siena] was closely associated with the art of Florence (where he occasionally worked in the 1320-1330s), studied antique sculpture, was interested in the problems of perspective ("Annunciation", 1344, National Pinakothek, Siena). In his main work - a cycle of paintings with scenes of "good" and "bad" government (Palazzo Pubblico in Siena, 1337-39), a complex allegorical program combines images marked by strict didacticism with vivid pictures of urban life and a majestic landscape panorama. Great Soviet Encyclopedia. |
The Passion Cycle of Lorenzetti. Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem.
The Passion Cycle of Lorenzetti. The Last Supper.
The Passion Cycle of Lorenzetti. Foot washing.
The Passion Cycle of Lorenzetti. Taking into custody.
The Passion Cycle of Lorenzetti. Flagellation of Christ.
The Passion Cycle of Lorenzetti. Carrying the cross.
The Passion Cycle of Lorenzetti.
The largest fresco in this cycle is the Crucifixion. In terms of breadth of narrative scope, it surpasses all other scenes and all previous images of this subject. There is no obligatory frontality in it - some of the characters turn their backs to the viewer. Just in case, the riders surround the people gathered around the cross, among which is the exhausted Mary. A motley crowd crowds around the cross, angels soar above it in the heavens.
"Holy Conversation" (St. Francis, Madonna and Child and Apostle John the Theologian) - located at eye level under the "Crucifixion".
The lower part of the Crucifixion was damaged in the 17th century due to the construction of a new altar structure. Today, more would be known about the creation of this fresco cycle, if not for this damage, since a portrait of the customer, whose identity is still unknown, was placed in the lower tier of the fresco.
The Passion Cycle of Lorenzetti. Descent from the cross.
The Passion Cycle of Lorenzetti. Wall painting under the scene "Descent from the Cross".
The Passion Cycle of Lorenzetti. Position in the coffin.
The Passion Cycle of Lorenzetti. Sunday.
The Passion Cycle of Lorenzetti. Descent into hell.
After 1344, the name of Pietro Lorenzetti is no longer found in documents. Sienese tradition says that Pietro died in 1348, along with his brother Ambrogio, during a plague epidemic raging in Siena. Pietro's art, dedicated to finding a new synthesis of form and color to express new ideas, had a significant impact. As in the case of Simone Martini, it can be argued that after the death of Pietro, not a single Sienese artist escaped his influence.
Stigmatization of St. Francis of Assisi.
Triptych in the altar niche. John the Baptist, Madonna and Child and St. Francis.
The other frescoes of the niche have not been preserved.
The tomb under the triptych was intended for Cardinal Napoleone Orsini, but it is empty.
Frescoes by Giotto in the Chapel of Mary Magdalene
The Chapel of Mary Magdalene was erected by Theobaldo Pontano, Bishop of Assisi in 1296-1329. and includes some of the finest examples of painting by Giotto's workshop and, it is believed, by the master himself (c. 1320). Vasari erroneously attributes these works to Puccio Capanna. On the side walls are scenes from the life of the saint (with a portrait of Bishop Pontano), and on the vault are medallions depicting Christ, the Virgin, Magdalene and Lazarus (whom the Catholic Church considers her brother).
* Mary Magdalene with the kneeling donor Bishop Pontano
* Magdalene receives clothes from the hands of the elder Zosima
According to S. S. Averintsev, some motives for the life of Mary Magdalene came, perhaps, from the life of Mary of Egypt.
Mary of Egypt is a saint of the 5th century. Her Greek life, dated to the 7th century, tells how she left her parents from the Egyptian village to Alexandria at an early age. In Alexandria she lived like a prostitute. Once in Jerusalem, she suddenly repented, believed in Christ and retired to the desert, where she indulged in the strictest asceticism. At first, she suffered greatly from deprivation, and then she stopped eating earthly food, believing that "spiritual grace is enough." She makes a prayer, "rising almost a cubit (about half a meter) from the ground and frozen in the air." Mary of Egypt meets in the desert with the monk Zosima, to whom she tells the story of her life. She asks Zosima to return to the desert in a year "on the day of the Holy Last Supper" (that is, on Maundy Thursday). He fulfills her request and she takes communion from his hands, taking "only three grains." A year later, Zosima finds her body and buries it with the help of a lion that came out of the desert.
* Resurrection of Lazarus
* Noli me tangere
Do not touch Me (lat. Noli me tangere) - a gospel story describing the first appearance of Christ after the Resurrection to Mary Magdalene, who, thus, was the first to see the resurrected Christ. He said, “Do not touch Me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. Rather, go to my brothers and tell them: I ascend to my Father and to your Father, to my God and to your God” (John 20:17).
The plot was used to paint the icons “Do not touch me” (in Europe “Noli me tangere”), in which Mary Magdalene is depicted stretching her hands to Christ, and also necessarily the walls of Heavenly Jerusalem.
* Magdalene talking to angels
* Magdalene sails to Marseille
Magdalene, her brother Lazarus and sister Martha, together with their companions, were put by their pursuers on a boat without a rudder, but arrived safe and sound in the port of a French city, from where they set off to preach the Gospel in Provence.
Frescoes in the right (northern) wing of the transept of the lower church.
The frescoes in the right (northern) wing of the transept, telling about the childhood of Christ, partly belong to Giotto and his workshop. Nativity written by the anonymous Master of St. Nicholas. In the lower tier there is an image of the miraculous appearance of the deceased St. Francis helping children. These frescoes by Giotto were revolutionary for their time: they depict real people with their emotions in a naturalistic landscape.
* Meeting of Mary and Elizabeth
* Christmas
* Adoration of the Magi
* Candlemas
* Massacre of babies
* Escape to Egypt
* Return from Jerusalem
A rare plot is the return of the Christ-boy with Mary and Joseph to Nazareth.
"Every year His parents went up to Jerusalem for the Passover feast.
And when He was twelve years old, they also came, according to the custom, to Jerusalem for the feast.
When, after the end of the days of the feast, they returned, the Servant Jesus remained in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother did not notice it,
but they thought that He went with others. And having traveled a day's journey, they began to seek Him among relatives and acquaintances.
and not finding him, they returned to Jerusalem, looking for him.
Three days later they found Him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions;
all who heard him marveled at his understanding and his answers.
And when they saw Him, they marveled; and His Mother said to Him: Child! what have you done to us? Behold, Your father and I have been looking for You with great sorrow.
He said to them: Why did you have to look for Me? or did you not know that I must be in that which belongs to my Father?
But they did not understand the words He spoke.
And he went with them and came to Nazareth; and was in subjection to them. And His Mother kept all these words in Her heart.
* Christ among teachers
* Crucifixion
* Death of a boy in Sesse
* Resurrection of a boy in Sesse
On the wall of the transept, Cimabue painted one of his most famous works, Madonna with St. Francis. This is probably the most similar depiction of the saint, and in its static and old-fashioned Gothic style, it contrasts with the new and lively work of Giotto.
Vault over the altar in the lower church.
In the most prominent place, St. Francis in glory is depicted. This fresco is unique in that the clothes of the saint and the background are covered with gold, especially considering the scale of the painting of the sails of the vault. What irony to surround the Saint, betrothed to Poverty with gold.
Saint Francis in glory.
Allegory of Chastity, or Purity.
Allegory of Obedience.
Allegory of Poverty, or the Marriage of Saint Francis with Poverty.
Other frescoes.
View of the Cimabue frescoes in the left transept of the upper church.
The disastrous condition of the Cimabue frescoes betrays the unsuccessful use of dyes, noted by Vasari, and the imperfection of the method of working with the imposition of plaster in large areas across the entire width of the scaffolding.
Cimabue. Crucifixion, upper church.
Cimabue. Healing of the Paralytic, detail, upper church.
Cimabue. tower of babel, upper church.
Cimabue. Christ, upper church.
Cimabue. Christ and Judas, upper church.
Cimabue. Evangelist Matthew, upper church.
Toritti. Feast in Cana of Galilee, upper church.
Toritti. Construction of the ship by Noah, the upper church.
The Church of San Francesco in Assisi, the Basilica of St. Francis in the Sacro Convento Monastery (Italian: La Basilica di San Francesco d "Assisi) is the main temple of the Franciscan order, located in the city of Assisi (Italy, administrative region of Umbria).
The temple gained worldwide fame thanks to the famous frescoes of the 13th century based on the life of St. Francis, the author of which is considered to be Giotto with his students. The Church of San Francesco, together with the monastery of Sacro-Convento in Assisi, are included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
General description of the building
The temple, built in the 13th century, is, in fact, two-story. The upper tier, which is commonly called the Upper Church, is the visible part of the building, rising on a hill, while the Lower Church is hidden in its thickness and ordinary buildings of the monastery. Its only visible element is the south portal leading to the stone-paved Lower St. Francis Square. The entrance to the Upper Church is on the east side, from the upper square of St. Francis, covered with lawn (see the plan of the monastery).
Both tiers are single-nave basilicas with a transept. The plan of the lower church is complicated by numerous chapels and crypts. From the church you can go even lower - to the crypt where St. Francis is buried. At the southern facade of the church rises a 60-meter bell tower. Buttresses and flying buttresses framing the building are visible from the northern facade, and from the side of the Lower Square they are lost between the bell tower and auxiliary structures.
Style characteristic
If the style of the lower church, immersed in twilight, goes back to the ancient tradition of the Roman crypt, then the interiors of the spacious upper church carry new aesthetic values that the architects of Central Italy would later pick up. This two-tiered church, in terms of planning, quite closely follows contemporary examples of French Gothic, such as, for example, Sainte-Chapelle in Paris, but at the same time retains continuity with the Italian basilicas of the Romanesque period.
Apparently, Italian architects consciously avoided the radical Gothic, which was so fashionable in that era at the courts of the northern feudal lords. Without trying to disguise the weight of building structures, they shifted the architectural focus towards a clear structured domed space. The foundations of the temple are adjacent to powerful walls, which, however, do not prevent sunlight from entering the temple. "Thin bundles of connected columns support the ribs of the vaults spanning four rectangular spans."
Thus, the appearance of the church is a synthesis of Romanesque and French Gothic, reflecting many typical features of the Italian Gothic style.
Construction history
The construction of the Franciscan monastery of Sacro-Convento and both basilicas of San Francesco in Assisi began in 1228, almost immediately after the canonization of the founder of the order and a native of this city, St. Francis. The land in the west of the city, where St. Francis retired from the city to die, was donated to the Franciscans by Simon di Puchiarello. The former place of execution of criminals, known in Assisi as "Hell's Hill" (Collo d'Inferno), began to be called "Paradise Hill".
The foundation stone of the building was solemnly laid on July 17, 1228 by Pope Gregory IX, although by that time work had already begun. The construction was directed and supervised by the Vicar of the Order, Elia Bombardone, one of the first companions of St. Francis, who had experience building for the crusaders in Syria.
The lower basilica was completed in 1230. On Trinity on May 25, the incorrupt body of the founder of the order was transferred there from a temporary shelter in the church of St. George (now the Basilica of Saint Clare). The upper basilica was built between 1239 and 1253. The decoration of the church was better than the masters of their time - from Cimabue to Giotto (see below).
In 1288, Pope Nicholas IV, who had previously been the head of the Franciscan order, granted the basilica the status of a papal church.
Preservation
In 1530, the bell tower (60 meters high) lost its spire as a result of a lightning strike. The inhabitants of the monastery were engaged in science a lot, and the appearance of the building and the murals never suffered from manifestations of excessive religious fanaticism during worship. Pavel Muratov, an art historian who visited the temple at the beginning of the 20th century, described his impressions of visiting the church as follows: “The Church of St. Francis in Assisi does not give the impression of a receptacle of ardent popular piety, which, for example, the Church of St. Anthony in Padua produces. It is not hung with anecdotal ex voto, and around its walls the country fair does not rustle from time to time.There is something of the order of a museum in the orderliness of its chapels and naves.Since the state secularized the monastery, the temple of San Francesco has been left to the emotions of tourists and the labors of art critics, who do not give it a moments of peace and distance from him the grace of oblivion.
On September 26, 1997, on the 816th anniversary of the birth of St. Francis, an earthquake struck that severely damaged the church and buried two Franciscan friars and two members of the committee under a mass of rubble. A number of frescoes were destroyed, the recent restoration of which required 2 million euros. The restorers cleared and assembled more than 180 sq. m. of murals, but it was not possible to completely restore them. Experts express concern that at least 20% of the painting has been irretrievably lost. In restoring the integral appearance of the frescoes, the restorers came to the aid of new technologies, with the help of which a three-dimensional computer model of the vault was created. It is superimposed on the remaining remains of the painting with a laser projector. In order to see what the vault of the church was like before the catastrophe, it is enough to put on special glasses.
Church decoration
The creation of the famous fresco cycle of the church took more than a century and a half. The artists started by painting the walls of the Lower Basilica (Cimabue, master of St. Francis), and then switched to decorating the walls of the Upper Basilica (Cimabue, Giotto). Having finished work in the Upper Church, the masters returned to the Lower Church and the new chapels attached to it (Giotto, Simone Martini, Pietro Lorenzetti).
Brief chronology of works
* 1226 - the death of St. Francis.
* 1228 - the beginning of construction.
* 1230 - completion of the lower basilica. Reburial of the relics of the saint.
* 1235 - consecration of the church by the Pope.
* 1239 - the beginning of the construction of the upper basilica.
* 1253 - completion of the upper basilica.
* 1270 - the master of St. Francis paints the walls of the Lower Church.
* approx. 1278 - Cimabue paints the walls of the Upper Church
* 1282 - the first period of Giotto's work
* 1296 - the second period of Giotto's work
* approx. 1298 - 28 "Franciscan stories" on the walls of the upper church of San Francesco in Assisi (presumably the work of Giotto).
* 1322 - frescoes by Simone Martini in the Lower Church.
* approx. 1326 frescoes by Pietro Lorenzetti in the Lower Church.
* 1368 - frescoes by master Andrea in the Lower Church.
lower church
The lower church owes its appearance, close in type to the crypt, to the vicar of the order, brother Elijah, who gained extensive experience in building massive stone crypts in Syria.
The entrance to it is through a portal on the southern facade, made in the Gothic style (2nd half of the 13th century) with two carved wooden doors (Umbrian workshop, 16th century).
Chapel of Catherine of Alexandria
At the opposite end of the vestibule is a chapel built at the expense of Cardinal Egidius Albornoz, papal legate in 1350-1367. It is dedicated to Saint Catherine of Alexandria. Frescoes with 8 episodes of her life were created in 1368-1639. master signed "Andreas pictor de Bononia". Most likely, it was Andrea de Bartoli (c. 1349-1369), the court painter of Cardinal Albornoz (sometimes these works are erroneously attributed to Andrea Bologna). The saints in this chapel were painted by Pace di Bartolo of Assisi (1344-1368).
Chapel of St. Sebastian
To the left of the entrance is a small chapel of St. Sebastian with paintings by Giacomo Giorgetti, the walls of which are decorated with episodes from the life of this saint by Gerolamo Martelli. On the right are two tombstones: Giovanni de Cerci and John de Brienne, King of Jerusalem.
Master of St. Francis: nave
The central nave of the basilica is surrounded by several chapels with semicircular arches. The frescoes decorating the nave are considered the oldest in the temple. Their creator remained unknown and, according to the main pictorial plot, began to appear in the history of art as the Master of St. Francis. On the right wall he wrote 5 scenes from the Passion of Christ, and on the left - 5 moments from the life of St. Francis. Such an arrangement of plots against each other, in the opinion of the Franciscans, should have emphasized the role of the founder of their order as the second Christ and their similarity.
The ceiling of the nave is sky-colored and painted with golden stars. The listed frescoes, made in tempera on dry plaster, date back to 1260-1263. and are recognized as the finest examples of Tuscan wall paintings from the pre-Cimabue period. Many images in the lower part of the walls were badly damaged or almost destroyed. The exceptions are several fragments of Cimabue's Madonna and Child with an Angel. With the growing popularity of the church between 1270 and 1350. many noble families began to order their own chapels, attached to the main nave, thus destroying the frescoes on the main walls.
Simone Martini: Chapel of St. Martina
The first chapel on the left bears the name of Saint Martin of Tours. It was built by Cardinal da Montefiore and painted with 10 frescoes depicting scenes from the life of a saint and a polyptych depicting saints. The author of the painting, made in 1317-1319. is Simone Martini. This work is one of the best works of the artist and is one of the greatest examples of painting of the XIV century. The use of lead white has led to the fact that some elements of the frescoes have become very dark over the years.
The cycle of the life of St. Martina:
1. Saint Martin gives half of his cloak to a beggar
2. Dream of St. Martina
3. St. Martin is knighted
4. St. Martin refuses weapons
5. The Miracle of the Resurrection of a Child
6. Meditations of St. Martina
7. Miraculous Mass
8. Miracle with fire
9. Death of St. Martina
10. Burial of St. Martina
Images of saints:
* Anthony of Padua and Francis of Assisi
* Mary Magdalene and Catherine of Alexandria
* Louis of France and Louis of Toulouse
* Clara of Assisi and Elizabeth of Hungary
* Consecration of the chapel by a donor
The second chapel on the left side is dedicated to St. Pedro Alcantara.
Chapels of St. Louis and Anthony of Padua
The first chapel along the right wall is dedicated to Louis of Toulouse and Saint Stephen, frescoed by Dono Doni (1575) and decorated with stained glass attributed to Simone Martine. The chapel next to it is dedicated to Anthony of Padua, where there are frescoes by Cesare Sermei (1610).
Giotto: Chapel of Mary Magdalene
Then comes the Chapel of Mary Magdalene. It was erected by Theobaldo Pontano, Bishop of Assisi in 1296-1329. and includes some of the finest examples of painting by Giotto's workshop and, it is believed, by the master himself (c. 1320). Vasari erroneously attributes these works to Puccio Capanna. On the side walls are scenes from the life of the saint (with a portrait of Bishop Pontano), and on the vault are medallions depicting Christ, the Virgin, Magdalene and Lazarus (whom the Catholic Church considers her brother).
* Mary Magdalene with the kneeling donor Bishop Pontano
* Magdalene receives clothes from the hands of the elder Zosima
* Resurrection of Lazarus
* Noli me tangere
* Magdalene talking to angels
* Magdalene sails to Marseille
The nave ends with a richly decorated semi-circular apse, which is preceded by a transept with a barrel vault.
Transept
The frescoes in the right wing of the transept, telling about the childhood of Christ, partly belong to Giotto and his workshop. Nativity written by the anonymous Master of St. Nicholas. In the lower tier there is an image of the miraculous appearance of the deceased St. Francis helping children. These frescoes by Giotto were revolutionary for their time: they depict real people with their emotions in a naturalistic landscape.
* Meeting of Mary and Elizabeth
* Christmas
* Adoration of the Magi
* Candlemas
* Massacre of babies
* Escape to Egypt
* Return to Jerusalem
* Christ among teachers
* Crucifixion
* Death of a boy in Sesse
* Resurrection of a boy in Sesse
On the wall of the transept, Cimabue painted one of his most famous works, Madonna with St. Francis. This is probably the most similar depiction of the saint, and in its static and old-fashioned Gothic style, it contrasts with the new and lively work of Giotto.
Chapel of St. Nicholas
In the right wing of the transept is another chapel - St. Nicholas, probably commissioned by the papal legate Napoleone Orsini. It is decorated with a cycle of 10 frescoes depicting miracles and alms of the saint, made by the anonymous Master of St. Nicholas between 1295 and 1305, influenced by the Legend of St. Francis, depicted in the upper basilica. This allowed Vasari to erroneously assume that Giotino had written them. The same master (Palmerino di Guido?) owns the "Annunciation" at the entrance to the chapel. There are also 5 images of saints by Martini: Francis, Louis of Toulouse, Isabella, Margaret and Henry of Hungary.
Lorenzetti: left wing of the transept
The left wing of the transept was decorated with the work of the Sienese master Pietro Lorenzetti and his studio, made between 1315 and 1330. Vasari mistakenly also attributed them to Giotto and Puccio Capanna. This cycle of frescoes is considered the best among the works of Lorenzetti. It consists of 6 scenes from the Passion of Christ. Particularly emotional, despite the damage, is the fresco "Descent from the Cross". In this series of frescoes, the viewer is given the opportunity to appreciate the first image of a falling shadow since antiquity. It is estimated that the series took 330 working steps to write, which means that even with input from Lorenzetti's workshop, it took several years to complete them. Lorenzetti participated in the decoration of the adjacent chapel of St. John the Baptist and completed the fresco Madonna dei Tramonti - Madonna of the Sunset, which got its name from the rays of the setting sun penetrating the opposite window.
The papal altar in the apse is made from a single block of stone brought from Como in 1230. The altar is surrounded by a series of ornamented Gothic arches, supported by columns in various styles. Twelve of these columns were dismantled in 1870. The beautiful Gothic walnut choir benches by Apollonio Petroccio da Ripatransone with the help of Tommaso di Antonio Fiorentino and Andrea da Montefalco date from 1471. The walls of the apse were once adorned with the image of the Crucifixion by Stefano Fiorentino, which was destroyed in 1622, and now there is the Last Judgment by Cesare Sermei di Orvieto (1609-1668).
Painting in the sails of the vault above the altar - "Vault of Paradise" (1315-1320) tells of the "Triumph of St. Francis". Three allegories are also depicted here: Obedience, Poverty and Chastity, performed by the so-called Master of the Vaults in Assisi, a student of Giotto.
The stained glass windows of the lower church are attributed to Giovanni di Bonino and his workshop. Puccio Capanna, a student of Giotto, completed two frescoes depicting episodes from the life of St. Stanislav, as well as the painting of the singing gallery and the image of the Crucifixion.
Crypt where St. Francis, at the end of the construction of the church, is located under the main altar of the lower basilica (and in fact is another floor down). Now you can go down to this crypt by one of the two stairs in the middle of the nave. Previously, a narrow underground passage led there, which was laid, and the existence of the crypt was forgotten.
It is believed that the remains of St. Francis were hidden by the architect brother Elijah, the builder of the temple, in order to prevent the separation of the relics of his saintly friend in order to spread throughout medieval Europe. There is also evidence that the underground passage was laid by order of Pope Eugene IV and for the same purpose: during the struggle between communal cities, the winners often took the relics of the saints from the vanquished.
Only in 1818, with the blessing of the Pope, the monks of Sacro-Convento made excavations under the altar of the Lower Basilica, wanting to verify the truth of the legends retold in the monastery, and discovered an underground passage leading to the crypt. In 1820, it was officially confirmed that Francis of Assisi was buried in the tomb. By order of Pope Pius IX (1792-1878), the crypt was decorated and opened to the public.
It was decorated in neoclassical style by Pasquale Belli, using marble. Between 1925-1932 the crypt was remodeled in neo-romanesque style by the architect Ugo Tarchi, using rusticated stone. An ancient stone sarcophagus is fixed on iron rods above the altar. In 1934, urns with the ashes of the disciples of St. Francis (brothers Rufino, Angelo Tancrede, Masseo and Leone) were buried in the corners around the altar. At the entrance to the crypt is an urn containing the remains of Jacopa dei Settesoli. This Roman aristocrat was one of the most devoted and generous friends of St. Francis and remained with him at the hour of his death.
upper church
The room of the upper basilica, made in the Gothic tradition, makes a completely different impression. Large stained-glass windows cast streams of colored light onto the frescoes. The stained-glass windows on the choir stalls were made in the 13th century by German artisans, those on the left wall by French artisans (1270), and the stained-glass windows on the right wall are attributed to the workshop of Master St. Francis. The stained-glass windows are rightfully considered to be among the finest examples of Italian glass of the 13th century.
The light and airy space has a simple plan: one nave with a transept and a polygonal apse. The sails of the vaulted ceiling are painted on a blue background with gold stars, figures of Christ, St. Francis, the Virgin Mary and John the Baptist. The ceiling in front of the entrance is decorated with images of the church fathers: Gregory the Great, Jerome, Ambrosius and Augustine. They are attributed to the Master of Isaac.
The west wing of the transept and the apse were decorated with a large number of frescoes by Cimabue and his workshop (from about 1280), such as the Crucifixion with Francis on his knees. Unfortunately, these frescoes have come down to us in a very poor condition due to the lead oxide used in the paint and poor-quality gypsum base.
* Apocalyptic Christ
* Crucifixion
* Kiss of Judas
* Evangelists
Before Cimabue, an anonymous Northern master, presumably an Englishman (1267-1270), worked on the decoration of the right wing of the transept. He painted two lunettes and a tondo on the western wall with images of angels and apostles. Another unknown artist, a Roman master, painted the figures of the prophet Isaiah and King David, and painted the remaining wall under the east lunette.
On the upper tier of both walls of the nave, which was seriously damaged during the earthquake of 1997, 32 scenes from the Old Testament (starting from the Creation of the world and ending with Joseph forgiving the brothers) and the New Testament (from the Annunciation to the myrrh-bearing women at the grave) were placed in two rows with the upper register of the entrance wall dedicated to Pentecost and the Ascension of Jesus. The followers of Cimabue, the Roman and Tuscan masters Giacomo, Jacopo Torriti and Pietro Cavallini, worked on this large-scale work.
Two frescoes from the life of Isaac in the middle register of the third sector have traditionally been attributed to the young Giotto (1290-1295), and Vasari attributed them to the brush of Cimabue. But this too is disputed. Most critics attribute their authorship to the anonymous Master of Isaac and his workshop. The author could also be Pietro Cavallini. Above Giotto's front door is a Madonna and Child with two angels (in three tondos). There is a smile on the baby's lips. This is the first smile in Italian painting.
Franciscan cycle
The most important part of the decorative decoration of the church is a cycle of 28 frescoes along the lower part of the nave, attributed to Giotto. The frescoes are distinguished by new artistic solutions introduced by the artist into Italian painting.
"The three-dimensional world - voluminous and tangible - is rediscovered, victoriously affirmed by the artist's brush. The symbolism of Byzantine art is discarded. The highest simplicity is guessed. Nothing superfluous. All the artist's attention is focused on the main thing, and a synthesis is given, a grandiose generalization. (L. D. Lyubimov)"
Each pier between the columns contains three frescoes, plus two frescoes in the eastern galleries next to the entrance and two more on the entrance wall (see diagram). When creating the iconography, the artist relied on the "Legenda Maior", a biography of St. Francis, written in 1266 by St. Bonaventure and three biographies written by Brother Thomas of Celano. The prototype for this cycle could be the cycle of Pietro Cavallini, which has not survived to this day, in the church of St. Francesco in Rome. According to Vasari, Giotto's frescoes were painted between 1296 and 1304.
The authorship of Giotto is disputed due to the many ambiguities in the stories of early sources about the creators of this cycle. Many Italian critics defend the version of their belonging to Giotto and his workshop. Because of the stylistic differences from the Isaac fresco cycle, it is assumed that few or even most of the frescoes in the Franciscan cycle were created by at least three different artists using Giotto's original ideas. They are called: Master of the legend of St. Francis (the main creator of most of the images), Master of the burial of St. Francis and Master of St. Caecilia.
Literature
* Peshke Joachim. “Monumental painting of the Giotto era in Italy. 1280-1400"
*Elvio Lunghi. The Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi, 1996
*Jean Dominique Rey. Frescoes in the upper church, Assisi, 1956
* Flavian A. Walsh. House of Peace: A history of the church and friary of Saint Francis of Assisi, New York City, 1993
* The Treasury of Saint Francis of Assisi: Masterpieces from the Museo Della Basilica of San Francesca by N. Y. Metropolitan Museum of Art
* Marilyn Aronberg Lavin. The Place of Narrative: Mural Decoration in Italian Churches, 431-1600, 1995
* Leonetto Tintori. The painting of The life of St. Francis in Assisi, With notes on the Arena Chapel, 1961
* Paschal Magro. The tomb of Saint Francis: The celebration of the Saint in the frescoes of the lower Church, 1981
* Mario Angio Romanini and Antonio Paolucci. Assisi: The Frescoes in the Basilica of St. Francis, 1998
Church of St. Bartholomew (Königssee)
The Church of St. Bartholomew on the Königssee (German: St. Bartholomä) is a Catholic pilgrimage chapel on the west bank of the Königssee, on the Hirschau peninsula. It can only be reached by water or a long march on foot. The chapel was founded in the 12th century. In the 17th century it was decorated in the Baroque style. St. Bartholomew was considered the patron saint of shepherds and mowers. The chapel has 2 domes of different sizes in the form of bulbs painted in red. The plan of the church is similar to the shape of the Salzburg Cathedral. The interior of the church is decorated with stucco work by the Salzburg artist Josef Schmidt and a choir of three semi-domes, the altars in separate semi-domes are dedicated respectively to St. Bartholomew, St. Catherine and St. James.
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