The programme of the fresco cycle by Benozzo Gozzoli in the choir of the church of San Francesco in Montefalco

Abstract

The frescoes on the subjects of the life of St. Francis in the choir of the main Franciscan church in Montefalco were painted by Benozzo Gozzoli in 1452. For a long time they remained poorly studied, and the program of the cycle was unclear. Studies of the end of the XX century indicate a steadily increasing interest in the artist's work, including his monumental paintings in Montefalco. The subject of this article is to clarify the program design of the chapel, which probably belonged to Fra Jacopo of Montefalco, a Franciscan theologian and rector of the church. The appearance of rare plots, atypical for earlier and later Franciscan cycles in Italy, and a careful analysis of each composition in connection with the literary tradition of the Franciscan order, allowed us to more fully substantiate that the idea of "Francis as another Christ" (Franciscus alter Christus) was consistently carried out in the chapel program. The cycle executed by Gozzoli includes twelve fresco compositions and a stained glass window. All of them represent twenty episodes from the life of St. Francis from his birth to his ascension to heaven, which are accompanied by explanatory comments in Latin. Many of the scenes are multi-episode, reflecting the passion for storytelling in the middle of the XV century and the desire to bring all the details and details necessary to explain the plot. The analysis of the compositions in comparison with hagiographic literature allows us to conclude that the compilers of the program mainly relied on three main texts about the life of the saint: the first and second lives of Thomas by Chelan, as well as the Great Legend by St. Bonaventure. The choice of subjects and the overall design of the chapel emphasize the living ministry of the saint, and also reflect another, more important by this time, Franciscan idea – the glorification of Francis as another Christ. The depictions of scenes telling about the birth, childhood and about the early years of Francis' life, appearing in the pictorial tradition for the first and last time, make this painting cycle truly unique.