Angels making music
|
| Angel playing music with viola |
|---|
| Melozzo da Forlì , between 1475 and 1480 |
| fresco |
| Vatican Pinacoteca , Rome |
The angels making music are a group of frescoes carried out by Melozzo da Forlì in the apsidal dome of the Church of Santi XII Apostoli in Rome .
Origin, dating and whereabouts
The group of frescoes, which in addition to angels making music, also depicts the Ascension of Christ , several apostles and cherubs , was created in the course of the restoration of Santi Apostoli ordered by Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere in 1475 . The order went to Melozzo, the then court painter ( Pictor papalis ) of Sixtus IV. The exact date of execution is not known, the years 1475 or 1478 , 1479 or 1480 are possible . The fresco, which is characterized by a bold and rigorous application of perspective , had a lasting influence on Melozzo's contemporaries. A few years later, Filippino Lippi's work was created in the Carafa Chapel of Santa Maria sopra Minerva and Michelangelo's cycle in the Sistine Chapel .
The fresco remained at its place of origin until 1711 , when the apse was torn down due to a church modernization. In order to save Melozzo's work from complete destruction, it was divided into 16 parts. Unfortunately, this undertaking was not without damage. The group of angels is now kept in the Vatican Pinacoteca , together with four heads of the apostles - with the exception of one angel, which is in the Prado in Madrid . The Ascension of Christ , which once formed the center of the composition, was brought to the Quirinal Palace .
description
The actual main theme of the apsidal decoration was the Ascension of Christ in fresco technique. The highlighted figure of Christ is shown in a shortened perspective and seems to literally float in the dome. It is surrounded by music-making angels, apostles and other figures, the perspective of which is directed from bottom to top ( ital. Da sott'in see below ).
The monumental figures merge with the background in an illusory way. Characteristic of the painter from Forlì is the clear light with which the colors are penetrated and the shadow is brightened - a technique that Piero della Francesca already used. However, through his more natural representation, Melozzo was able to loosen up the somewhat serious volume of Francesca, especially in portraits.
meaning
The figure of Christ occupying the center of the fresco composition is rendered in such skilful foreshortening and the host of angels surrounding him demonstrates such a great mastery of the most varied of perspective views that this work by Melozzo da Forlì can be counted among the forerunners of the later illusionistic ceiling painting.
The figures painted by Melozzo are distinguished by their noble grandeur. Its plasticity, accentuated by perspectives and foreshortening, has a rhetorical effect. The lyrical facial expressions of the angels with their curly hair are likely to represent one of the most idyllic and subtle creations of the Renaissance .
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The following frescoes are in the Vatican Pinacoteca:
- Group of little angels 1
- Apostle head 1
- Apostle head 2
- Apostle head 3
- Apostle head 4
- Group of little angels 2
- Angel with a viola
- Angel with lute 1
- Angel with lute 2
- Angel with lute 3
- Angel with drum and flute
- Angel with a tambourine
- Angel with a triangle
- Angel with Rebec
More pictures
Angel with lute
Angel with lute
Angel with lute
Angel with a tambourine
Angel with a triangle
Angel with Rebec
Angel with drum
Ascension of Christ , detail
Group of little angels
Group of little angels
Apostle head
Apostle head
Apostle head
Three heads of the apostles
literature
- Nicodemi, G .: Melozzo da Forlì . Rome 1935.
- Buscaroli, R .: Melozzo e il melozzismo . Bologna 1955.
- Clark, N .: Melozzo Da Forli, Pictor Papalis . London 1990.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Stadler, W .: Lexicon of Art - Painting, Architecture, Sculpture . Karl Müller Verlag, Erlangen 1994, ISBN 3-86070-452-4 .
- ↑ Sureda, J. and Milicua, J .: Histoire de l'art universal - La Renaissance . tome 6. Larousse Diffusion France, 1989, ISBN 2-03-505216-5 .