The refectory of Sant'Apollonia - a photo on Flickriver

            The construction of the refectory, a large hall with a painted coffered ceiling illuminated by a row of windows on the right wall and by two larger windows at the far end, began around 1440.

"The frescoes by Andrea del Castagno not only constituted a fundamental episode in the spatial and perspectival innovations of Renaissance painting, but likewise introduced interesting novelties in the extremely codified iconographic tradition of Florentine "cenacoli". The scene of the Last Supper that in the 14th-century tradition was subordinate to the dominant theme of the Crucifixion, here in effect vertically occupies half of the end wall of the Refectory, while while only the upper part of the wall is occupied by the Crucifixion, with the Resurrection to its right and the Deposition to its left.

The design of the entire wall was profoundly innovative in that it is not divided into single episodes but rather is conceived as a part of the unified space, an illusion obtained through the use of perspective and landscape that serve as unifying elements.

The scene of the Last Supper is placed within a perspectival box of unequaled precision for the solutions adopted with regard to striking foreshortenings and challenging perspectival studies.  Andrea adopts a viewpoint from below in the imaginary perspectival definition of the pavilion where the apostles are experiencing the moment of the institution of the Eucharist.  The table, placed on a high dais, projects dramatically within the loggia, itself bordered by two lateral openings that force the eye of the observer to take in the whole scene at once,  passing gradually from the closed environment to the open air of the upper scenes, placed illusionistically on a second plane.  Thus, the low brick walls at the sides of the pavilion, where everything (the tiles of the pavement, the beams of the ceiling, the roof tiles) is represented in perspective, insert it into the garden whose greenery spreads above to include the base of the cross and the two sarcophagi, creating a truly realistic landscape setting that recalls the slopes of mount Falterona.

Gradual transformation can also be found in the use of color that ranges from the dark and dramaatic tonalities of the closed environment of the Last Supper to the increasing luminosity of the upper zone, culminating in the clear tonalities and whitened highlights of the cold light of the dawn, seen in the Resurrection, dawn of the world and and expression of the message of salvation.  With this work Andrea created the first Renaissance Cenacolo in Florence, giving us one of the greatest masterpieces in Florentine painting, defined by critics at the end of the 19th century as the most surprising illusion of reality in all of Renaissance civilization for unity of light, plasticity and spatial handling."

At the center of the wall adjacent the cloister is the Crucifix, attributed to Rafaello da Montelupo.

Church of Sant'Apollonia. Florence 2014

Taken in: Italy / Tuscany / Florence / Viali (show map)

Taken on: March 15, 2014

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2014

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Italy

Province of Florence

architecture

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church

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interior

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Renaissance

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Sets appears in: • Art • Florence 2014. Churches

Groups appears in: • Windows Doors and Balconies • doors and windows around the world more » • The World of Architecture • Architecture/Cityscape Art • PLANET EARTH BACK IN THE DAY • architecture pro • Vestiges des bâtisseurs d'antan... • Again and Again and Again « less

Camera: Sony NEX-5, f/3.5, 1/30 sec, 18mm (=27mm), ISO 800 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Sony NEX-5
Lens:	E 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 OSS
Aperture:	f/3.5
Exposure Time:	0.033 sec (1/30)
Focal Length:	18mm (35mm equivalent: 27mm)
ISO:	800
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Program AE
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Color Space:	sRGB
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