Green Cloister Frescoes - Santa Maria Novellastro Verde - Santa Maria Novella - Firenze
Il chiostro deve la sua notorietà al ciclo di affreschi della prima metà del XV secolo che occupa le pareti dei rimanenti tre lati, comprendente alcune importanti pitture di Paolo Uccello, tra le quali il celebre capolavoro del Diluvio universale.
Il nome con il quale il chiostro è storicamente conosciuto deriva dal colore predominante di questo ciclo, dipinto secondo una particolare tecnica, prevalentemente monocroma, detta “a terra verde”.
Le pitture raffigurano le Storie della Genesi, il primo libro della Bibbia, nell’ordine in cui si presentavano ai frati che accedevano al chiostro dalla chiesa.
Il ciclo quindi comincia a fianco della porta che si trova nella campata nord-orientale, con la Creazione, e prosegue lungo i lati est, sud e ovest con le storie dei Progenitori, di Noé, di Abramo, di Isacco e di Giacobbe.
Green Cloister - Santa Maria Novella - Firenze
The cloister, that in the past was part of the Dominican Convent of Santa Maria Novella, borders with the left nave of the church with which it is connected by a door reached by a staircase that is to be found in the north-east corner of the church.
It was built between 1332 and 1362, based on a project of the Dominicans Giovanni da Campi and Jacopo Talenti. There is little evidence of its first years of existence. The decoration of the vaults, with Busts of Saints and Blessed Dominicans in polylobate frames, dates back to the 14th century but it has been totally repainted in recent years, apart from in some bays of the south and west sides. The other 14th paintings which have survived until today are all in the northern bays, at the sides of the entrance wall of the Chapterhouse or Spanish Chapel.
The cloister owes its fame to the cycle of frescoes executed in the first half of the 15th century which takes up the walls of the remaining three sides, including some important works by Paolo Uccello, amongst which the famous masterpiece The Deluge. The name by which the cloister has always been known derives from its predominant colour of this cycle, painted according to a particular technique, mostly in monochrome, called “green earth”.
The paintings represent the Stories of Genesis, the first book of the Bible, in the order in which they were seen as the friars entered the cloister from the church. The cycle, therefore, begins from next to the door which is in the north-east bay, with the Creation, and continues along the east, south and west sides with the stories of the Forefathers: Noah, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Green Cloister Frescoes - Santa Maria Novellastro Verde - Santa Maria Novella - Firenze
Il chiostro deve la sua notorietà al ciclo di affreschi della prima metà del XV secolo che occupa le pareti dei rimanenti tre lati, comprendente alcune importanti pitture di Paolo Uccello, tra le quali il celebre capolavoro del Diluvio universale.
Il nome con il quale il chiostro è storicamente conosciuto deriva dal colore predominante di questo ciclo, dipinto secondo una particolare tecnica, prevalentemente monocroma, detta “a terra verde”.
Le pitture raffigurano le Storie della Genesi, il primo libro della Bibbia, nell’ordine in cui si presentavano ai frati che accedevano al chiostro dalla chiesa.
Il ciclo quindi comincia a fianco della porta che si trova nella campata nord-orientale, con la Creazione, e prosegue lungo i lati est, sud e ovest con le storie dei Progenitori, di Noé, di Abramo, di Isacco e di Giacobbe.
Green Cloister - Santa Maria Novella - Firenze
The cloister, that in the past was part of the Dominican Convent of Santa Maria Novella, borders with the left nave of the church with which it is connected by a door reached by a staircase that is to be found in the north-east corner of the church.
It was built between 1332 and 1362, based on a project of the Dominicans Giovanni da Campi and Jacopo Talenti. There is little evidence of its first years of existence. The decoration of the vaults, with Busts of Saints and Blessed Dominicans in polylobate frames, dates back to the 14th century but it has been totally repainted in recent years, apart from in some bays of the south and west sides. The other 14th paintings which have survived until today are all in the northern bays, at the sides of the entrance wall of the Chapterhouse or Spanish Chapel.
The cloister owes its fame to the cycle of frescoes executed in the first half of the 15th century which takes up the walls of the remaining three sides, including some important works by Paolo Uccello, amongst which the famous masterpiece The Deluge. The name by which the cloister has always been known derives from its predominant colour of this cycle, painted according to a particular technique, mostly in monochrome, called “green earth”.
The paintings represent the Stories of Genesis, the first book of the Bible, in the order in which they were seen as the friars entered the cloister from the church. The cycle, therefore, begins from next to the door which is in the north-east bay, with the Creation, and continues along the east, south and west sides with the stories of the Forefathers: Noah, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.