Agnolo Gaddi and the Cappella Maggiore in Santa Croce in Florence. Studies After Its Restoration

The Cappella Maggiore of the Franciscan basilica of Santa Croce in Florence was, under the patronage of the noble Alberti family, the final chapel in the old transept to be frescoed, at the end of the fourteenth century. The commission was awarded to Agnolo Gaddi, the last in a family of painters boasting direct artistic descent from Giotto.
Culturally and artistically, the decoration of the chapel, comprising a magnificent cycle illustrating the Legend of the True Cross, has many meanings in the context of the Florentine milieu at the time. From the theological perspective, the choice of one of the themes dearest to the Franciscans was of course linked to the dedication of the church to the Holy Cross, but it was also connected to the Franciscans' role as the so-called Custodians of the Holy Land. It reaffirmed, therefore, the order's fundamental role as defenders of the Church. From the artistic point of view, this cycle concluded the grand arc of Florentine painting that originated with Giotto, through its validation, through the choice of Agnolo Gaddi, of the importance of continuity and tradition. But, at the same time, it also opened up a new path, an attempt to insert the late-Gothic style into that tradition. The cycle also became an unavoidable iconographic reference, certainly used up to the Renaissance and Piero della Francesca's True Cross cycle in Arezzo.
For all of these reasons and more besides, which the reader will find inside this volume, it was important to take a new look at this primary text upon completion of its restoration by the Opificio delle Pietre Dure (carried out between 2005 and 2010). The decision to bring together a group of experts from different disciplines and put them in relation with the material and technical data provided by the restorers opens up a new path for future research of this kind. The new context one reconstructs serves as a challenge and a stimulus to move beyond the circle defined by more traditional scholarship and explore the possibilities that technical expertise can offer the humanistic disciplines.