When the Place Makes the Piece: Presentation in the Renaissance

The Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore is the fourth-largest church in Europe. Located in the heart of Florence, it's home to over 750 pieces of art, hundreds of which were created during the Italian Renaissance. It was erected in 1296, structurally complete in 1436, and reborn a number of times through demolitions and reconstructions. Detailed chronicles of the construction and revisions to its facade (the front face of the building) are kept in the second floor of the Opera del Duomo Museum-- including a number of wooden prototypes-- but less-remarked upon is the back side of that wall, the counter-facade. It features two distinct works: The Coronation of the Virgin, a mosaic attributed to medieval artist Gaddo Gaddi (early 1300s), and fresco painting Musician angels by Santi di Tito (late 1500s). I'll be focusing on the latter.

 

Musician angels was completed after the widely-recognized end of the High Renaissance in Italy, but di Tito was undeniably a Renaissance artist, and this work features a number of the artistic elements associated with the period. Although the ground plane isn't visible, making discerning an exact vanishing point difficult, the scene is painted in perspective and gives the impression of a crowd of angels in a loggia that extends from the actual room it adorns. It's an impressive use of the space! 

Alongside this naturalist consideration is a very humanist depiction of angels. Despite the otherworldly nature of the subject, they are depicted realistically as human forms, enjoying themselves mid-dance and song. This joy is an expression rooted in humanism, and the piece further inspires awe through its scale and placement, each painting about 5 feet in height, with a total length of about 20 feet, high and overlooking the entryway of the chapel. 

Also unique about Musician angels is that it's a companion to an older work, the aforementioned mosaic The Coronation of the Virgin. About 200 years apart in age, I find it particularly impressive how seamlessly the two coexist. In Musician angels, di Tito continues the narrative of The Coronation, providing the scene with heavenly fanfare. His appreciation for the original work seems to extend into his own technique, having applied gold to match the background of the mosaic. The works are joined in their shared setting, and distinct in their period-typical styles.

Coincidentally, this collaboration between church and artist wouldn't be possible about the Medici family. They funded much of the construction of the Florence Cathedral, including its famous dome! They were separately patrons of di Tito, Francesco I de Medici having commissioned the artist for three paintings for his Studiolo in the Palazzo Vecchio of Florence. 

Ultimately, this collection of paintings into one piece is a beautiful collaboration across time and mediums, and I'd love to own a print of the full spread!

 

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Works Cited

Bardon, Alley. “The Renaissance Art Period: History, Effects, and Influential Artists.” Lindenwood University Online, 12 Oct. 2023, online.lindenwood.edu/blog/the-renaissance-art-period-history-effects-and-influential-artists/.

Cartwright, Mark. “Renaissance Humanism.” World History Encyclopedia, World History Publishing, 4 Nov. 2020, www.worldhistory.org/Renaissance_Humanism/.

Chiari, Antonella. “Facade Stories.” Firenze.it, Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore, 16 Sept. 2024, duomo.firenze.it/en/opera-magazine/post/11252/facade-stories. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.

---. “The Facade of Florence Cathedral.” Firenze.it, Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore, 5 Dec. 2024, duomo.firenze.it/en/opera-magazine/post/6558/the-facade-of-florence-cathedral.

Hedesan, Georgiana. “Studiolo of Francesco I De’ Medici: Introduction | Cabinet.” Www.cabinet.ox.ac.uk, Jan. 2022, www.cabinet.ox.ac.uk/studiolo-francesco-i-de-medici-introduction.

Mark, MacDonnell. “Santi Di Tito.” Dorotheum.com, 2020, www.dorotheum.com/en/l/6937663/. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.

Opera Di Santa Maria Del Fiore. “Gaddo Gaddi (Attr.), Incoronazione Di Maria.” Firenze.it, 2025, duomo.firenze.it/en/discover/cathedral/9142/. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.

---. “Girolamo Ticciati, Gloria Di San Giovanni Battista.” Firenze.it, 2024, duomo.firenze.it/en/discover/opera-duomo-museum/artworks.

---. “Santi Di Tito, Angeli Musicanti.” Firenze.it, 2019, duomo.firenze.it/en/discover/opera-duomo-museum/the-halls/ingresso-storico/9071/santi-di-tito-angeli-musicanti-1589-ca_. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.

---. “The Medici Family and the Florence Cathedral.” Duomo.firenze.it, 16 Dec. 2020, duomo.firenze.it/en/opera-magazine/post/5231/the-medici-family-and-the-florence-cathedral.

Sannio, Simone. “Inside the House of Medici (Part II): Palazzo Vecchio | L’Italo-Americano - Italian American Bilingual News Source.” Web.archive.org, 12 Jan. 2017, web.archive.org/web/20200207005430/italoamericano.org/story/2017-1-11/medici-palazzo-vecchio.

The Museums of Florence. “Cathedral of Florence.” Museumsinflorence.com, 2019, www.museumsinflorence.com/musei/cathedral_of_florence.html.

Vasari, Giorgio. “Gaddo Gaddi – ItalianRenaissance.org.” Italianrenaissance.org, 2023, www.italianrenaissance.org/vasari/gaddo-gaddi/. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.

Zampetti, Franco. “Counter-Facade.” Franco Zampetti, 13 Nov. 2020, www.francozampetti.com/en/p/counter-facade-cathedral-florence/. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.