View source for Medici Chapels

{{Short description|Structures at San Lorenzo, Florence, Italy}}
{{About|the chapels at San Lorenzo in Florence|other chapels of the Medici family|Medici Chapel (disambiguation){{!}}Medici Chapel}}
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The '''Medici Chapels''' ({{langx|it|Cappelle medicee}}) are two chapels built between the 16th and 17th centuries as an extension to the [[Basilica of San Lorenzo, Florence|Basilica of San Lorenzo]], in the Italian city of [[Florence]]. They are the [[Sagrestia Nuova]] ('New Sacristy'), designed by [[Michelangelo]], and the larger [[Cappella dei Principi (Florence)|Cappella dei Principi]] ('Chapel of the Princes'), a collaboration between the [[Medici]] family and architects. The purpose of the chapels was to celebrate the Medici family, patrons of the church and [[Grand Dukes of Tuscany]].

These are not to be confused with the [[Magi Chapel]] in the [[Palazzo Medici Riccardi]], then the main Medici home, that houses a famous cycle of [[fresco]]es by [[Benozzo Gozzoli]], painted around 1459.

== Sagrestia Nuova ==
{{Main|Sagrestia Nuova}}
[[File:Chapel of the Princes, early 17th century; San Lorenzo, Florence (2) (48768699497).jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|The Sagrestia Nuova; on the left is the tomb of [[Lorenzo de' Medici, Duke of Urbino]]; on the right, the altar]]
The [[Sagrestia Nuova]]<ref>Charles de Tolnay, ''Michelangelo'', vol. III "The Medici Chapel" (Princeton, 1948)</ref> or New Sacristy, also known simply as the Medici Chapel, was intended by [[Pope Clement VII|Cardinal Giulio de' Medici]] and his cousin [[Pope Leo X]] as a [[mausoleum]] or mortuary chapel for members of the Medici family. It balances [[Filippo Brunelleschi]]'s [[Sagrestia Vecchia]], the 'Old Sacristy' nestled beside the left [[transept]] of San Lorenzo, with which it consciously competes, and shares its format of a cubical space surmounted by a dome, of gray ''[[pietra serena]]'' and whitewashed walls. It was the first essay in architecture (1519–1524) of [[Michelangelo]],<ref>William E. Wallace, ''Michelangelo at San Lorenzo. The Genius as Entrepreneur'', Cambridge University Press, 1995, p.</ref> who also designed its monuments that are dedicated to certain members of the Medici family, with sculptural personifications of the four times of day<ref>Michelangelo left no note of his "allegories" as he called them; the identification as ''Night'' and ''Day'', ''Dawn'' and ''Dusk'' was first offered by [[Benedetto Varchi]], 1549</ref> that were destined to influence sculptural figures reclining on [[architrave]]s for many generations to come. The Sagrestia Nuova was entered via a discreet entrance in a corner of San Lorenzo's right transept, now closed.<ref>Modern entrance, which requires a ticket, is through the Cappella dei Principi.</ref>

Although it was vaulted over by 1524, the ambitious projects of its sculpture and the intervention of events, such as the temporary exile of the Medici (1527), the death of Giulio, eventually Pope Clement VII, and the permanent departure of Michelangelo for [[Rome]] in 1534, meant that Michelangelo never finished it.

The ''[[Medici Madonna|Madonna and Child]]'' was the first sculpture Michelangelo completed for the project, and although most of the following statues had been carved by the time of Michelangelo's departure, they had not been put in place, being left in disarray across the chapel. Later, in 1545, they were installed by [[Niccolò Tribolo]].<ref>{{cite book|first=Charles|last= Avery|title= Florentine Renaissance Sculpture|publisher=John Murray Publishing|year= 1970|page= 190}}</ref> By order of Cosimo I, [[Giorgio Vasari]] and [[Bartolomeo Ammannati]] finished the work by 1555.<ref>Antonio Paolucci. ''The Museum of the Medici Chapels and the Church of San Lorenzo''. Sillabe Publishing 1999.</ref>

Four Medici tombs were intended for the project, but those of [[Lorenzo de' Medici|Lorenzo the Magnificent]] and his brother [[Giuliano de' Medici|Giuliano]] (buried beneath the altar at the entrance wall) were never begun. The magnificent existing tombs are those of two more recently deceased and less well-known family members whose careers had been cut tragically short by their comparatively early deaths: [[Giuliano de' Medici, Duke of Nemours|Giuliano di Lorenzo, Duke of Nemours]] (d. 1514, aged 37) and his nephew (d. 1519, age 27) [[Lorenzo de' Medici, Duke of Urbino|Lorenzo di Piero, Duke of Urbino]], whose daughter [[Catherine de' Medici]] became Queen of France). The architectural components of these tombs are similar and with sculptures offering contrast.

In 1976, a concealed corridor with drawings by Michelangelo on its walls was discovered under the New Sacristy.<ref>[http://www.florentine-society.ru/Medici_Chapel_Mysteries.htm Peter Barenboim, Sergey Shiyan, ''Michelangelo: Mysteries of Medici Chapel'', SLOVO, Moscow, 2006]. {{ISBN|5-85050-825-2}}</ref><ref>[http://www.florentine-society.ru/Michelangelo_Drawings.htm Peter Barenboim, "Michelangelo Drawings – Key to the Medici Chapel Interpretation", Moscow, Letny Sad, 2006], {{ISBN|5-98856-016-4}}</ref>

== Cappella dei Principi ==
{{Main|Cappella dei Principi}}
[[File:Capella dels Mèdici o dels Prínceps, San Lorenzo, Florència.jpg|thumb|Exterior]]
[[File:Medici Chapel Interior.jpg|thumb|Interior]]

The octagonal [[Cappella dei Principi]], surmounted by a tall dome 59 metres high, is the distinguishing feature of San Lorenzo when seen from a distance. It is on the same axis as the nave and chancel to which it provides the equivalent of an apsidal chapel. Its entrance is from the exterior,<ref>A sequence of small spaces leads from the Sagrestia Nuova also.</ref> in Piazza Madonna degli Aldobrandini, and through the low vaulted [[crypt]] planned by [[Bernardo Buontalenti]] before plans for the chapel above were made.<ref>In the separate, earlier crypt beneath the nave of the basilica are buried [[Cosimo de' Medici]] and [[Donatello]].</ref>

The opulent Cappella dei Principi, an idea formulated by [[Cosimo I de' Medici]], was put into effect by [[Ferdinand I de' Medici|Ferdinand I]]. It was designed by [[Matteo Nigetti]], following some sketches tendered to an informal competition of 1602 by [[Don Giovanni de' Medici]], the natural son of Cosimo I, which were altered in the execution by the aged Buontalenti.<ref>Touring Club Italiano, ''Firenze e dintorni'' (Milan, 1964) p. 285f.</ref> A true expression of court art, it was the result of collaboration among designers and patrons.

For the execution of its astonishing revetment of marbles inlaid with colored marbles and [[semi-precious stone]], the [[Opificio delle Pietre Dure]] (the grand ducal hardstone workshop) was established. The art of ''commessi'', as it was called in Florence, assembled jig-sawn fragments of specimen stones and [[porphyry (geology)|porphyry]] to form the designs of the revetment that entirely cover the walls. The result was disapproved of by 18th- and 19th-century visitors, but has come to be appreciated for an example of the taste of its time.<ref>TCI, ''Firenze e dintorni'' 1964:286: "indeed, conceived according to the Baroque aim of arousing stupefaction" (''concepita già secondo il fine barocco di destare stupore'').</ref> Six grand [[Sarcophagus|sarcophagi]] are empty; the Medici remains are interred in the crypt below. In sixteen compartments of the dado are coats of arms of [[Tuscany|Tuscan]] cities under Medici control. In the niches that were intended to hold portrait sculptures of Medici, two were executed by [[Pietro Tacca]] (1626–1642) that feature Ferdinando I and Cosimo II.

== See also ==
* [[History of early modern period domes]]

== Notes ==
{{Reflist}}

== References ==
{{refbegin}}
* Edith Balas, "Michelangelo's Medici Chapel: A New Interpretation", Philadelphia, 1995
* [http://www.florentine-society.ru/pdf/Michelangelo_and_500_years_of_the_New_Sacristy.pdf Barenboim, Peter (with Heath, Arthur). ''500 years of the New Sacristy: Michelangelo in the Medici Chapel''], LOOM, Moscow, 2019. {{ISBN|978-5-906072-42-9}}
* [http://www.florentine-society.ru/Michelangelo_Drawings.htm Peter Barenboim, "Michelangelo Drawings: Key to the Medici Chapel Interpretation", Moscow, Letny Sad, 2006], {{ISBN|5-98856-016-4}}
* Peter Barenboim, Alexander Zakharov, "Mouse of Medici and Michelangelo: Medici Chapel / [http://www.florentine-society.ru/Michelangelo_it.htm Il topo dei Medici e Michelangelo: Cappelle Medicee", Mosca, Letni Sad, 2006]. {{ISBN|5-98856-012-1}}
* [http://www.florentine-society.ru/Medici_Chapel_Mysteries.htm Peter Barenboim, Sergey Shiyan, ''Michelangelo: Mysteries of the Medici Chapel'', SLOVO, Moscow, 2006]. {{ISBN|5-85050-825-2}}
* Peter Barenboim, Sergey Shiyan, ''Michelangelo in the Medici Chapel: Genius in details'' (English, Russian). Moscow, Looom, 2011, {{ISBN|978-5-9903067-1-4}}
* James Beck, Antonio Paolucci, Bruno Santi, "Michelangelo. The Medici Chapel", Thames and Hudson, New York, 1994, {{ISBN|0-500-23690-9}}
* {{cite journal |author=Panofsky, Erwin |title=The Mouse That Michelangelo Failed to Carve |journal=Essays in Memory of Karl Lehmann |location=N.Y. |year=1964 |publisher=Institute of Fine Arts, New York University |pages=242–255 |url=http://www.florentine-society.ru/pdf/The_Mouse_Michelangelo_Failed_to_Carve.pdf}}
* {{cite journal |author=Barenboim P. D. / Peter Barenboim |title=The Mouse that Michelangelo Did Carve in the Medici Chapel: An Oriental Comment to the Famous Article of Erwin Panofsky |journal=Florentine Society Journal |year=2017 |url=http://www.florentine-society.ru/The_Mouse_that_Michelangelo_Did_Carve.htm}}
* William E. Wallace,"Michelangelo at San Lorenzo: Genius as Entrepreneur", Cambridge University Press, 1995, {{ISBN|0-521-41021-5}}
{{refend}}

== Bibliography ==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last1=Baldini |first1=Umberto |title=Michelangelo scultore |date=1973 |publisher=Rizzoli |language=Italian}}
* {{cite book |last1=González |first1=Marta Alvarez |title=Michelangelo |date=2008 |publisher=Mondadori arte |location=Milano |isbn=978-88-370-6434-1 |edition=Nuova |language=Italian}}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
* {{Commons category inline}}
* {{Official website}}

{{Florence landmarks}}
{{Michelangelo|architecture}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Burials at San Lorenzo, Florence]]
[[Category:Chapels in Florence]]
[[Category:House of Medici]]
[[Category:Mannerist architecture in Italy]]
[[Category:San Lorenzo, Florence]]
[[Category:National museums of Italy]]