The Life of Saint Augustine: Gozzoli’s Frescos in San Gimignano, Italy
Article By Alie Feid
San Gimignano is a small town in Tuscany, Italy, 64.7 kilometers southwest of Florence. It was originally called “City of Silva” before 397 C.E when the Bishop of Modena freed it from invaders, and it was renamed in honor of him. During the Middle Ages the town was under the control of two ruling families: the Ardinghello (Guelf) and the Salvucci (Ghibelline). The original architecture of the area featured 72 distinctive Gothic towers, 14 of which remain standing as notable monuments (Britannica). One frequently visited place is the Palazzo del Popolo, more commonly known as the Palazzo Comunale, located on the Piazza del Duomo and has a civic authority center since the 13th century. The Collegiata di Santa Maria Assunta, a Roman Catholic collegiate church, consecrated in 1148, is another notable site along with the Church of Sant’Agostino, where several of Benozzo Gozzoli’s notable works are housed.
Figure 1: San Gimignano, Tuscany, Italy
Gozzoli’s works in San Gimignano are not limited to the pieces in the Church of Sant’Agostino, also including depictions of Saint Sebastian, the restored Meastà in the Palazzo Comunale, and various altarpieces, but the frescos are particularly significant in the recording of Saint Augustine’s life and in the Augustinian reform movement in general (Ahl 35). Fra Domenico Strambi, the patron for this round of Gozzoli’s work, was a part of the Augustinian reform movement that pushed the importance of Plantonic ideals such as the “commitment to learning, the lucidity of his prose, and the brilliance of his argumentation,” as well as the need for congregational reform (Ahl 37). Beyond his work in Florence, Gozzoli has also been commissioned for pieces in Rome, Umbria, throughout Tuscany, and for the Procession of the Magi in the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi in Florence.
Instead of a symbolic, general depiction of the saint, Gozzoli had to, to his best ability, portray the events of Augustine’s life in a limited series of frescos. There are seventeen compartments across the two side walls and circulating the central window behind the altar within the church. The narration begins on the lowest row on the left side, closest to the worshiper, and continues to the right and then up. The reasoning for this was to locate the earliest parts of the story near the congregation because it tells of the time when Saint Augustine was most human and farthest away from being revered as a divine being. As the pieces progress and ascend, so does he. Furthermore, the pieces are arranged in such a way that the frescos directly opposite one another are either complimentary or foils (Ahl 42). Gozzoli took this style of narration, into Montefalco and his design of the North Doors of the Florentine Baptistery. Two of the early pieces, Augustine’s Enrollment in Grammar School and Augustine’s Departure for Milan are transition pieces “from the public space of the nave to the inner sanctuary of the monks’ choir, for both are crowded, outdoor episodes full of movement and color that display Gozzoli’s virtuosity in the art perspective” (Ahl 42).
Figure 2: Benozzo Gozzoli, St. Augustine’s Enrollment in Grammar School, 1464-65, Fresco
Figure 3: Benozzo Gozzoli, St. Augustine Departing for Milan, 1464-65, Fresco
This narration and specific style came at an important period of time. Many of the old masters, such as Andrea del Castagno, Domenico Venezaino, and his old teacher, Fra Angelico, had since passed. Current masters of the time like Piero della Francesca and Fra Filippo Lippi were not based in Florence. Artists like Botticelli and Ghirlandaio were just starting their careers (Ahl 44). Gozzoli’s Sant’Agosinto frescos, Piero’s frescos in Arezzo, and Donatello’s pulpits in San Lorenzo were the dominant narrative art works that were being created during the time period.
REFERENCES:
Ahl, Diane Cole. “Benozzo Gozzoli’s Frescoes of the Life of Saint Augustine in San Gimignano: Their Meaning in Context.” Artibus et Historiae 7, no. 13 (1986): 35–53. https://doi.org/10.2307/1483246.
Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia. "San Gimignano." Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/place/San-Gimignano.
Alie Feid is a second-semester Sophomore Studio Art and Art History double-major, with a minor in Arts Leadership & Administration. Originally from Asheville, she hopes to pursue studio art practice or a career in art restoration post-graduation.