Capponi Chapel

Four tondos with the Evangelists still adorn the pendentives that once supported the old cupola. Except for the painting of St John, the precise authorship of the other three portraits has posed considerable problems for scholars, who are unable to agree on the extent to which Bronzino contributed in the execution of the paintings. The figures of the Evangelists, with their distinctly Michelangiolesque flavour, have a vigour deriving from the way their heads are twisted and pushed forward. They are wrapped in ample robes, whose bold colours stand out against the dark backgrounds. This play of strong contrasts, which exalts the delicate outlines of the coloured surfaces, is in keeping with the refined style of the entire decoration. The most significant expression of Pontormo's new artistic tendency is undoubtedly the chapel's altarpiece, the painting of the famous Deposition, which can perhaps justly be described as the artist's masterpiece. It was presumably the highly singular artistic innovation of this painting that prompted Pontormo to build a kind of screen which for three years prevented anyone from entering the chapel. View of the Capponi Chapel c. 1528 Photo Cappella Capponi, Santa Felicità, Florence Deposition c. 1528 Oil on wood, 313 x 192 cm Cappella Capponi, Santa Felicità, Florence Deposition c. 1528 Oil on wood, 313 x 192 cm Cappella Capponi, Santa Felicità, Florence Deposition c. 1528 Oil on wood, 313 x 192 cm Cappella Capponi, Santa Felicità, Florence Deposition (detail) c. 1528 Oil on wood Cappella Capponi, Santa Felicità, Florence Deposition (detail) c. 1528 Oil on wood Cappella Capponi, Santa Felicità, Florence Deposition (detail) c. 1528 Oil on wood Cappella Capponi, Santa Felicità, Florence Deposition (detail) c. 1528 Oil on wood Cappella Capponi, Santa Felicità, Florence Deposition (detail) c. 1528 Oil on wood Cappella Capponi, Santa Felicità, Florence Annunciation 1527-28 Fresco, 368 x 168 cm Cappella Capponi, Santa Felicità, Florence Annunciation (detail) 1527-28 Fresco Cappella Capponi, Santa Felicità, Florence Annunciation (detail) 1527-28 Fresco Cappella Capponi, Santa Felicità, Florence St John the Evangelist c. 1525 Oil on wood Cappella Capponi, Santa Felicità, Florence St Luke c. 1525 Oil on wood Cappella Capponi, Santa Felicità, Florence