The Chapel will be closed until February 3th to set up scaffolding and start important works of restoration, which will go on most likely until the end of 2022. From February 4th, people will be allowed to visit the chapel and climb safely on scaffolds to look closely at the paintings by Masaccio and Masolino. More details soon on the Website of Comune di Firenze!
Work on the decoration of the chapel, built prior to 1386 in the right-hand side of the transept of the Church of Santa Maria del Carmine, was begun immediately after 1423 by Masaccio and Masolino, who painted frescoes depicting scenes from the Life of Saint Peter. These were completed around 1485 by Filippino Lippi.
In the middle of the 15th century the chapel was dedicated to the ‘Madonna of the People’ and an altarpiece, a Madonna and Child by an anonymous 12th-century Florentine painter, was housed there. The differences in style between the three artists are clearly evident in the frescoes: Masolino’s elegant figures, which are still an expression of late Gothic culture, contrast with the solidity and rigorous perspective of the scenes executed by Masaccio, while Filippino Lippi, who frescoed most of the right wall, painted figures and architectural features in keeping with the severity of Masaccio’s frescoes.
A multimedia show entitled ‘Masaccio’s Eye’ introduces visitors to the religious, artistic and social meanings of the masterpieces in the Brancacci Chapel.
Cappella Brancacci
Piazza del Carmine, 14, 50124 Firenze FI, Italia
Notice!!! From February 2022 the frescoes in the Brancacci Chapel have been undertaking an important restoration which is going to last for about one year; visits have to be booked and it is possible to look closely at the paintings thanks to the scaffolding. Soon an elevator will be available to allow people with motor impairments to access the scaffolding and visit the Chapel. For more information please check the official site: cultura.comune.fi.it.
Access to the Brancacci Chapel is possible through a museum route that goes from the square to the Cloister and the Sala Capitolare. Thanks to the elevator, people in wheelchairs can easily access the chapel from the cloister. All the museum rooms that open out onto the cloister are fully accessible. Disabled toilets are in the cloister on the ground floor.
MUS.E Association regularly organizes guided tours and workshops in the Brancacci Chapel and in the other City Museums of Florence for special audiences with visual or hearing impairments and people with intellectual disorders or senile decay. These activities are designed for the specific needs of any of them, to make the museum experience immersive, relevant and enjoyable for all. For information and booking: info@musefirenze.it ; + 39 055-2768224.
