Sunday, May 11, 2014

Cenacolo di Ognissanti

Ultima Cena, Last Supper by Domenico Ghirlandaio, Cenacolo di Ognissanti, Refectory of All-Saints, Florence

Ultima Cena (Last Supper) by Domenico Ghirlandaio, 1480
Cenacolo di Ognissanti (Refectory of All-Saints)
Borgo Ognissanti
Florence, April 2014

“The large refectory of the church of Ognissanti is located between the first and second cloister of the old convent. The room on the opposite wall gives access to a splendid stone door in pietra serena, with two basins, built in 1480, on each side. The niches are decorated with two frescoes referring to water: Sarah at Jacob's pit and Moses who makes water gush from the rock, two 17th century works by Giuseppe Romei. The central fresco, which entirely Downs the wall (8.10 x 4 m), is the work of Domenico Ghirlandaio (1449-1494), who produced with this work one of the best examples of his art, representing a serene yet dramatic episode of the Last Supper. The apostles are painted in the moment in which Jesus announces that one of them will betray him. Following the requests of the monks who commissioned the painting, Ghirlandaio picked out a large number of apparently decorative details, which are in reality a precise symbolic reference to the drama of the Passion and Redemption of Christ, as for instance the evergreen plants, the flight of quails, the oranges, the cherries, the dove and the peacock. By being a separate fresco, it can be compared to the style of the sinopite on the left wall.” (Last Supper of Ognissanti, The Museums of Florence)

See also: Ultima Cena

2 comments:

Changes in the wind said...

So beautiful.

cieldequimper said...

Oh just one of many I didn't make it to... but it wouldn't have been my favourite.