Ekaterina Tarakanova
Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russia
The Mazzatosta Chapel in the Church Santa Maria della Verità is practically ignored in Russian historiography. Foreign studies on this chapel are focused on stylistic features of its paintings — this is one of the two known undoubted works of Lorenzo da Viterbo. Issues of the portrait presentation and correlation between the paintings’ subjects and contemporary developments of the master’s time are raised in several papers. However, Mazzatosta Chapel has never been examined as an integral artistic ensemble. In this research such approach is applied for the first time.
The monument was created at the end of the 1460s. Since that a unique leading idea of its decor program is the theme of the miracle, inspired by the fact of Madonna vision in the Church Santa Maria della Verità in 1446. Miracles are represented on the murals of Mazzatosta Chapel. This are the behavior of three-year-old Mary, running up the Temple steps and being admitted to the sanctum sanctorum, Joseph’s staff blooming up in his hands, Annunciation scene that was the first stage of God’s incarnation, the Adoration of the Child, and culmination — the Ascension of Our Lady; apostle Thomas’ desire to make sure himself in it returns us to the question of the miracle belief.
Artistic realization of Mazzatosta Chapel decor program has a number of formal features with distinct meanings. The sanctuary wall composition appears to be the axis of the mariologic cycle. Madonna’s image is presented three times on its vertical line. The core is an upper scene of the Ascension of Our Lady. One of the apostles — witnesses of this event — stands apart from the rest of the group. He could be perceived faced both to the chapel space (like a reasoner inviting a visitor to join miracle contemplation) and to the adjacent right wall (here, he is perceived as a participant of the scene of the Adoration of the Infant Jesus). Biphory, dissecting the right wall of the chapel, at certain time of day is projected on the opposite wall with a scene of the betrothal of Joseph and Mary on it; exactly along with this the figures of the main characters are illuminated with
sun light.