Scrovegni Chapel

Scrovegni Chapel
Scrovegni Chapel
The Scrovegni Chapel, or Cappella degli Scrovegni,
also known as the Arena Chapel, is a church in Padua,
Veneto, Italy. It contains a fresco cycle by Giotto,
completed about 1305, that is one of the most important
masterpieces of Western art. The church was dedicated
to Santa Maria della Carità at the Feast of the
Annunciation, 1305. Giotto's fresco cycle focuses on the
life of the Virgin Mary and celebrates her role in human
salvation. The chapel is also known as the Arena
Chapel because it was built on land purchased by Enrico
Scrovegni that abutted the site of a Roman arena. This
space is where an open-air procession and sacred
representation of the Annunciation to the Virgin had
been played out for a generation before the chapel was
built. A motet by Marchetto da Padova appears to have
been composed for the dedication on March 25, 1305.[1]
The chapel was commissioned by Enrico Scrovegni,
whose family fortune was made through the practice of
usury, which at this time meant charging interest when
loaning money, a sin so grave that it resulted in
exclusion from the Christian sacraments.[2] Built on
family estate, it is often suggested that Enrico built the
Capella degli Scrovegni
chapel in penitence for his father's sins and for
absolution for his own. Enrico's father Reginaldo degli
Scrovegni is the usurer encountered by Dante in the Seventh Circle of Hell. A recent study suggests that Enrico
himself was involved in usurious practices and that the chapel was intended as restitution for his own sins.[3] Enrico's
tomb is in the apse, and he is also portrayed in the Last Judgment presenting a model of the chapel to the Virgin.
Though the chapel was ostensibly a family oratory, it served some public functions related to the Feast of the
Annunciation.[4]
Giotto was an architect as well as an artist, but it is not known whether he designed the chapel. Apart from Giotto's
paintings, the chapel is unornamented and features a barrel vault roof. Giotto's Last Judgment covers the entire wall
above the chapel's entrance and includes the aforementioned devotional portrait of Enrico. Each wall is arranged in
three tiers of fresco groups, each with four two-meter-square scenes. Facing the altar the sequence begins at the top
of the right hand wall with scenes from the life of the Virgin, including the annunciation of her mother and the
presentation at the temple. The series continues through the Nativity, the Passion of Jesus, the Resurrection, and the
Pentecost. The panels are noted for their emotional intensity, sculptural figures, and naturalistic space. Between the
main scenes Giotto used a faux architectural scheme of painted marble decorations and small recesses.
One of the most gripping paintings in the chapel is Giotto's portrayal of The Kiss of Judas, the moment of betrayal
that represents the first step on Jesus' road to the Crucifixion.[5]
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Scrovegni Chapel
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Anthology of images
The iconography of the fresco cycles are those of the
Life of Christ and the Life of the Virgin. The
Annunciation occupies a central position over the
chancel arch.
• Joachim is sent away from the temple
• Prelude to the stories of Mary
• Prelude to the stories of Christ
• Joachim amongst the shepherds
• An angel comes to Anna in prayer
• Joachim sacrifices a kid goat to the Lord
• Joachim's dream
• Joachim meets Anna at the Golden Gate
• Nativity of Mary and bathing the infant
The Kiss of Judas, one of the panels in the Scrovegni Chapel
• Presentation of Mary at the Temple
• The bringing of the branches
• Prayer for the blossoming of the branches
• The marriage of the Virgin
• The nuptial cortege
• The mission of the Annunciation to Mary
• The Annunciation
• Visitation
• The Nativity of Jesus
• The Adoration of the Magi
• The Presentation of Jesus at the Temple
• The Flight into Egypt
• The Massacre of the Innocents
• The Finding in the Temple (Jesus among the
doctors)
• The Baptism of Jesus
• The Wedding at Cana
• The Resurrection of Lazarus
• Christ enters Jerusalem
• The expulsion of the dealers from the Temple
• Judas's Betrayal
•
•
•
•
The Last Supper
The washing of the feet
The Kiss of Judas
Jesus before Caiaphas
• Flagellation of Christ
• The ascent to Calvary
• Crucifixion
• Lamentation of Christ
• The Resurrection of Jesus — "Noli me tangere"
• Ascension
Full-size ceramic reproduction of the Scrovegni Chapel at the
Ōtsuka Museum of Art in Japan
Scrovegni Chapel
• Pentecost
• The Last Judgment
• Allegories of the Vices and the Virtues
Notes
[1] An acrostic in the motet's text suggests Marchetto was the composer.
[2] Stokstad, Marilyn
[3] Anne Derbes and Mark Sandona, The Usurer's Heart: Giotto, Enrico Scrovegni, and the Arena Chapel in Padua. Pennsylvania State
University Press, 2008.
[4] The connection of the Annunciation of the fresco cycles and the feast is explored by Laura Jacobus, "Giotto's Annunciation in the Arena
Chapel, Padua" The Art Bulletin 81.1 (March 1999), pp. 93-107.
[5] Stokstad, Marilyn
Bibliography
• Derbes, Anne, and Mark Sandona. The Usurer's Heart: Giotto, Enrico Scrovegni, and the Arena Chapel in
Padua. Pennsylvania State University Press, 2008.
• Derbes, Anne, and Mark Sandona, eds. The Cambridge Companion to Giotto. Cambridge University Press, 2004.
• Giuliano Pisani, L’ispirazione filosofico-teologica nella sequenza Vizi-Virtù della Cappella degli Scrovegni,
«Bollettino del Museo Civico di Padova», XCIII, 2004, Milano 2005, pp. 61–97.
• Giuliano Pisani, Terapia umana e divina nella Cappella degli Scrovegni, in «Il Governo delle cose», dir. Franco
Cardini, Firenze, n. 51, anno VI, 2006, pp. 97–106.
• Giuliano Pisani, L’iconologia di Cristo Giudice nella Cappella degli Scrovegni di Giotto, in «Bollettino del
Museo Civico di Padova», XCV, 2006, pp. 45–65.
• Giuliano Pisani, Le allegorie della sovrapporta laterale d’accesso alla Cappella degli Scrovegni di Giotto, in
«Bollettino del Museo Civico di Padova», XCV, 2006, pp. 67–77.
• Giuliano Pisani, Il miracolo della Cappella degli Scrovegni di Giotto, in Modernitas – Festival della modernità
(Milano 22-25 giugno 2006), Spirali, Milano 2006, pp. 329–57.
• Giuliano Pisani, Una nuova interpretazione del ciclo giottesco agli Scrovegni, in «Padova e il suo territorio»,
XXII, 125, 2007, pp. 4–8.
• Giuliano Pisani, I volti segreti di Giotto. Le rivelazioni della Cappella degli Scrovegni, Rizzoli, Milano 2008
(ISBN 9788817027229).
• Giuliano Pisani, Il programma della Cappella degli Scrovegni, in Giotto e il Trecento, catalogo a cura di A.
Tomei, Skira, Milano 2009, I – I saggi, pp. 113–127.
• Stokstad, Marilyn; Art History, 2011, 4th ed., ISBN 0205790941
External links
• Official website (http://www.cappelladegliscrovegni.it/)
• Virtual Tour and Information (http://www.giottoagliscrovegni.it/eng/home.html)
• University of Auckland (http://www.arts.auckland.ac.nz/ahist/arthist111/biblical_narratives/) most of the
images, with explanations & highlighing named figures etc.
• Video introduction to Giotto's masterpiece (http://www.webvisionitaly.com/category.php?id=248&
ref_genre=&ref_item=397)
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Article Sources and Contributors
Article Sources and Contributors
Scrovegni Chapel Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=429538731 Contributors: Amandajm, Andycjp, Antonella.francioso, Attilios, Auntof6, BD2412, CARAVAGGISTI, Cami
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Martindorp, Massimo Catarinella, Mattis, Mephiston999, Mervyn, MoiraMoira, Neddyseagoon, Olde gaffer, Olivier, Paul August, Riggr Mortis, Robinell, SchuminWeb, Scrovegnigiotto, Sparkit,
Thorvaldsson, Thoughtfortheday, Vary, Wetman, 12 anonymous edits
Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors
Image:CappelladegliScrovegni.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:CappelladegliScrovegni.jpg License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0 Contributors:
Massimo Catarinella
Image:Giotto - Scrovegni - -31- - Kiss of Judas.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Giotto_-_Scrovegni_-_-31-_-_Kiss_of_Judas.jpg License: Public Domain
Contributors: AndreasPraefcke, Bohème, Bon-Pirate, Evrik, Javierme, JuTa, Mattes, Olivier2, Petrusbarbygere, Sailko, Xenophon, 2 anonymous edits
Image:The Otsuka Museum of Art20s3200.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:The_Otsuka_Museum_of_Art20s3200.jpg License: Creative Commons
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