The Medici and the Magi: The Three Kings in Renaissance Florence

Fabulous online lecture from Paul Nutall on the chapel of the Journey of the Magi in the Medici Palace in Florence.

Nutall moved seamlessly from describing the space, talking about how it would have originally looked and how it was altered over the years, what it was built for, how it was painted by Benozzo Gozzoli and the iconography of the scheme.

It is a space I know and love as it is like entering a jewel or stepping back in time to 15th century Florence and I knew a lot about it, but I learnt even more. I was most interested in how it might have related to contemporary history with portraits of Galeazzo Maria Sforza, son of the Duke of Milan, and Sigismondo Malatesta, Lord of Rimini, to mark their visit to the city and audience in the space. She also talked about how some of the symbolism relates to the Medici’s place in the city and influence on its government. 

It certainly left me wanting to read around the subject even more and possibly watch the cheesy but fun TV series on the Medici again!

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