A dazzling array of Renaissance frescoes adorn the walls of the most famous chapel of Florence’s 750-year-old Church of Santa Maria del Carmine.
Study a treasure trove of well-preserved frescoes by revered Florentine artists when you visit the Brancacci Chapel (Cappella dei Brancacci). Commissioned by local silk merchant Felice Brancacci, Brancacci Chapel dates back to 1422 and stands inside the baroque 13th-century Church of Santa Maria del Carmine. Incredibly, the paintings survived a fire in 1771 that destroyed the church’s original medieval design and other nearby buildings.
Following the completion of the chapel, Brancacci hired Masolino da Panicale to decorate it with fresco depictions of the life of St. Peter. Masaccio, who was one of the first painters of the Quattrocento era, took over from Masolino in 1428 after the latter had moved to Hungary to be a court painter. Masaccio’s work stood incomplete until the 1480s, when Filippino Lippi took on the task of finishing the decorations.
Take your time to observe the paintings by each artist and note the differences in emphasis and style. Masaccio’s Expulsion of Adam and Eve from Eden evokes the feeling of agony, emotional realism and intensity. In contrast, Masolino’s Temptation of Adam and Eve is notable for its delicate figures, serenity and subtleness. Admire the Raising of the Son of Theophilus and St. Peter Enthroned, which Lippi completed over half a century after Masaccio started it.
Among the most iconic paintings in the chapel is Masaccio’s The Tribute Money. This three-part continuous narrative tells the biblical story of St. Peter finding a coin in the mouth of a fish and paying a tax collector. The painter used vivid colors to convey the robes of Jesus and his apostles. Look for multiple appearances of St. Peter and the tax collector.
Brancacci Chapel is open every day except Tuesdays and Sunday mornings. Opening hours for the church may differ from the chapel. The chapel is in Florence’s Oltrarno neighborhood, on the south bank of the river. Although inside the Church of Santa Maria del Carmine, the chapel has its own separate entrance.
