Epiphany

Today is the Epiphany of Our Lord, a wonderful event in the earthly life of Christ, and a wonderful event in the annual life of the Church, full of meaning and one which has shown itself to be a rich source of inspiration to artists in fulfilling commissions over many centuries.

Two of the most famous, and which regularly features on Christmas cards are in Florence. The earlier in date is Gentile da Fabriano’s The Adoration of the Magi from 1423 which was commissioned by the Strozzi family for the church of Sta Trinità, but is now in the Uffizi. The second is Benozzo Gozzoli’s fresco cycle of the journey of the Magi, which was painted in 1459 on the walls of the private chapel of the Medici Palace.

Smarthistory has two illustrated pieces about these famous works Which placed them in their historical context and bring out some of the details which draw you ever deeper into homage of the Magi, with all their wealth, as depicted for two very wealthy and cultured Florentine banking families. In one aspect these paintings are extravagant celebrations of the wealth and lifestyle that the two families had or aspired to. They are an insight, a vision indeed, of an exclusive and privileged world for fifteenth century Florentines. Yet the very fact of their having commissioned them indicate an awareness on their part that they were fortunate and both able and anxious to place themselves as humble suitors before the infant King of Kings. One difference is that the Strozzi commission was for a parish church, but the Medici chapel was very much private sacred space.That also applies to Gozzoli’s painting of the Adoration which he painted in the cell created by Cosimo de Medici for private meditation at San Marco in Florence. This is also discussed in the relevant article. In temporal terms the Medici at least had made money out of the institutional Church,  yet both commissions suggest an awareness that all the good things in the Strozzi and Medici families came from God.

The Strozzi Adoration is discussed at Smarthistory – Gentile da Fabriano, Adoration of the Magi (reframed)

The Medici chapel is described at Smarthistory – Benozzo Gozzoli, The Medici Palace Chapel frescoes