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Vaulting cell no. 4 of the frescoes in the church of S.M. del Fiore in Florence
| It was June 11, 1572 when Giorgio Vasari, by order of Cosimo de' Medici, inaugurated the work site where he began the Last Judgement in the cupola of Santa Maria del Fiore.
He continued working with five artists until his death in 1576. A few months later Cosimo de' Medici also died and was succeeded by grand-duke Francesco who waited two years before calling Federico Zuccari to complete the work.
A non-Florentine, Zuccari's appointment created quite some resentment among many Florentine artists. When completed in 1579, a grandiose work covered a surface area measuring 3,600 sqm, the largest pictorial cycle of Christianity.
Vasari and Zuccari represented two different schools. The former used the "a fresco" technique, while the latter used the "a tempera" technique. A work of great beauty which was however harshly criticised and, during successive centuries, risked being eliminated. |
