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

Epiphany

To celebrate today's feast of the Epiphany here are the late medieval western depictions of the story of the visit of the Magi from a post by John Dillon on the Medieval Religion discussion group. I have chosen these because the Epiphany has produced so many images over the centuries that John's post would be too long to reproduce in extenso, and also reflecting my own particular interest in the later middle ages. The images can be seen in a larger size by clicking on the links at the bottom right

Scenes attributed to Giovanni da Modena in his early fifteenth-century frescoes (c. 1410) in the cappella Bolognini of Bologna's basilica di San Petronio:


1) The Magi see the star and depart [click on the image to expand it]:
http://tinyurl.com/87zhx42
2)  Adoration of the Magi:
http://tinyurl.com/7g87f4v
3)  the Magi return by sea [click on the image to expand it]:
http://tinyurl.com/7n3cmnu

The Adoration of the Magi by Conrad of Soest on a wing of the Marienaltar (c. 1420) in the Marienkirche, Dortmund

http://tinyurl.com/2l2j4j

The Adoration of the Magi by Gentile da Fabriano in a panel painting (1423) in the Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

http://tinyurl.com/hofxd6q

Adoration of the Magi) by Beato Angelico in a mid-fifteenth-century fresco (c. 1440-1441) in cell 39 of the convento (now Museo nazionale) di San Marco, Florence

http://www.wga.hu/art/a/angelico/09/cells/39_ador.jpg

http://tinyurl.com/jzbqjdr

The Adoration of the Magi) by Beato Angelico and Filippo Lippi in a mid-fifteenth-century panel painting (1440s or 1450s) in the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC

There is more about the painting at 

http://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/Collection/highlights/highlight41581.html

Adoration of the Magi by Andrea Mantegna in a panel painting on a retable of 1461. From the chapel of the Ducal palace at Mantua in the Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

http://tinyurl.com/2naqt9

The Adoration of the Magi depicted by the Elmelunde workshop in a later fifteenth-century vault fresco (c. 1480) in Tingsted kirke, Tingsted, Guldborgsund Kommune (Region Sjælland), Denmark

http://www.tingstedkirke.dk/bl/kskib23.jpg

The Adoration of the Magi on a later fifteenth-century alabaster panel, presumably from an altarpiece, in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London

http://tinyurl.com/yd36py9

The Adoration of the Magi by Jaume Huguet in a later fifteenth-century panel painting in the Museu d'Historia de la Ciutat, Barcelona

http://tinyurl.com/8gerc3

High relief  of the Adoration of the Magi by Pieter Dancart on his late fifteenth-century high altar (c. 1488) in Seville's catedral de Santa María de la Sede:

http://www.galeon.com/juliodominguez/2006/cepi.html

eeee) as portrayed in high relief (Adoration of the Magi) by Johann von Ach on the late fifteenth- or early sixteenth-century portail Saint-Laurent of Strasbourg's cathédrale Notre-Dame:
http://tinyurl.com/23mklv
For closer views, click on "statues" in the menu at right here:
http://tinyurl.com/2b2wpr

As depicted by the Elmelunde Master in a painting (c. 1500) in Elmelunde kirke, Elmelunde (Vordingborg Kommune), Sjælland, Denmark

http://images2.cdn.k.dk/sites/default/files/2014/12/20030328-102351-6-1000x666we.jpg

High relief  of the Adoration of the Magi by Tilman Riemenschneider in a limewood relief panel (between c. 1505 and c. 1510) in the British Museum, London

http://tinyurl.com/7xuos6p

High relief of the Adoration of the Magi by Jehan Soulas in the initial panels (1519-1521) of the earlier sixteenth-century choir screen in Chartres cathedral

http://tinyurl.com/hrgqsc7

High relief  of the Adoration of the Magi by Miguel Perrin on the tympanum of the earlier sixteenth-century Puerta del los Palos (c. 1520) of Seville's catedral de Santa María de la Sede

http://tinyurl.com/z9c282z

The Epiphany of Our Lord

Today is the Epiphany of Our Lord according to the traditional use of the Church.

As I have posted on this day in recent years I, and I think many others, would wish to see a return to the traditional date of January 6th for its observance in the Ordinary Form in England and Wales - and indeed in other countries as well - rather tham transferring it to the Sunday. I do very much hope that the Bishops will resolve to petition ther Holy See for a restoration of the customary dates for Epiphany, Ascension and Corpus Christi in the near future. It is surely not unreasonable to expect the faithful - if such they really are - to go to Mass on a day other than Sunday on three occasions during the year, or if they are in a parochial unit with several churches but only one priest to travel a slight distance - it will certainly not be as far as the Magi travelled.

I was quite happy to observe an anticipated Mass and Vespers of Epiphany in the Ordinary Form last Sunday, though otherwise I said the Office for the Second Sunday after Christmas, but, thanks to the rules governing the Extraordinary Form, I am able to observe this wonderful feast on its proper day, that is today. So, as in previous years, and as I described in my post Epiphanylast year, I am saying the Office for Epiphany, will go to the EF Low Mass at the Oxford Oratory at 12.15 and then, this evening, attend the Sung Mass at SS Gregory and Augustine at 6. Those possibilities do, I realise, make Catholic life in Oxford both richer and easier in practical terms than in many other places, and thanks be to God for that fact.

The Adoration of the Magi

This work in tempera on wood, also called Pala Strozzi, was painted in 1423 by Gentile da Fabriano, and is one of the best known images of the Epiphany. It was commissioned by the wealthy banker and intellectual Palla Strozzi for the family chapel in the church of Santa Trinita.

 Image: uffizi.org

A Happy and Joyful Epiphany to you all.

Epiphany

A Joyful Epiphany to you all

The Adoration of the Magi

Gentile da Fabriano c 1370- c.1427

The figure between the donkey and the third king has been identified as the artist. The figure with the hawk has been identified as Palla Strozzi, who commissioned the painting.

1423

Uffizi Gallery, Florence

Image: webhook.com

Epiphany Sunday

As today is being observed as Epiphany Sunday it provides another excuse to post one of the most famous depictions of the visit of the Magi, that by Gentile da Fabriano. Painted in 1420-23 for the church of Santa Trinita in Florence it is now on display in the Uffizzi. There is an article about Gentile here and a more detailed one about the painting here.

The Adoration of the Magi

Gentile da Fabriano

1423

The central scene

Image farm1.staticflickr

Quite apart from its considerable appeal as a devotional image or as a work of art I am also drawn to it because it was commenced in the year Bishop Fleming was consecrated in Florence by Pope Martin V, who was late to be a patron of Gentile, commissioning him to work on the nave of the Lateran basilica in 1427, although the artist died that same year. It is therefore an indication of the cultural milieu in which "my bishop" was moving in his years at the Papal court in Florence from 1418-20.

Epiphany

A joyful Epiphany to you all



Detail from The Adoration of the Magi by Gentile da Fabriano, 1423