Address: Piazza del Carmine, Church of Santa Maria del Carmine
Built prior to 1386 at the end of the right wing of the Church of Santa Maria del Carmine,
the Brancacci Chapel owes its well-deserved fame to its fresco
cycle, painted in various stages by Masolino, Masaccio and
Filippino Lippi.
Around 1425, Felice Brancacci, then Florence's ambassador to
Egypt, commissioned Masolino to decorate the three walls of the
Chapel. Masolino later called on the young Masaccio to assist
him, who subsequently briefly carried on the work alone. For
reasons which are still unclear (perhaps stemming from Masaccio's
trip to Rome, where he died in 1428), the frescoes were not
completed until sixty years later, when Filippino Lippi, working
from 1481-1485, added the finishing strokes.
In 1771, the church was gutted by a devastating fire.
Fortunately, it spared the Brancacci Chapel but left its wall
decorations blackened by smoke. They are currently under
restoration.
The divergent styles of the three artists are quite evident in
two of the frescoed scenes, the Life of St. Peter, and the
Original Sin. While Masolino's delicate figures are still linked
to the gothic approach, Masaccio wholly portrays his grandiose
vision with linear and airy perspectives, and classic, severe
realism. These currents come together in his masterful Expulsion
of Adam and Eve and the celebrated Payment of the Tribute Money,
found on the left wall. Lastly, we see Filippino Lippi's
contribution in figures that tried, and in good measure
succeeded, in matching the imposing depth of Masaccio's scenes.
The chapel has been recently reopened after undergoing complete
restoration.
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