Filippino Lippi's Carafa "Annunciation": Theology, Artistic Conventions, and Patronage

Author(s): Gail L. Geiger

Source: The Art Bulletin , Mar., 1981, Vol. 63, No. 1 (Mar., 1981), pp. 62-75
Published by: CAA

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/3050086

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 Parker, K. T., Catalogue of the Collection of Drawings in the Ashmolean
Bibliography Museum, Volume II: Italian Schools, Oxford, 1956.

Popham, A. E., and P. Pouncey, Italian Drawings in the Department of

Berenson, B., The Drawings of the Florentine Painters, 3 vols., Chicago,
1938. Prints and Drawings in the British Museum. The Fourteenth and Fif-
teenth Centuries, 2 vols., London, 1950.
Degenhart, B., and A. Schmitt, Corpus der italienischen Zeichnungen,
1300-1450: I. Sud- und Mittelitalien, 4 vols., Berlin, 1968. Popham, A. E., and J. Wilde, The Italian Drawings of the XV and XVI
Centuries ... at Windsor Castle, London, 1949.
Fahy, E., "Michelangelo and Domenico Ghirlandaio," Studies in Late
Medieval and Renaissance Painting in Honor of Millard Meiss, ed.Ragghianti,
I. C. L., "La giovinezza e lo svolgimento artistico di Domenico
Lavin and J. Plummer, New York, 1977, 152-156. Ghirlandaio," L'Arte, xxxvIII, 1935, 166-198 and 341-373.

Rosenauer, A., "Zum Stil der friihen Werke Domenico Ghirlandajos,"

Gilbert, C., "The Drawings Now Associated with Masaccio's Sagra,"
Storia dell'arte, No. 3, 1969, 260-278. Wiener Jahrbuch fUir Kunstgeschichte, xxii, 1969, 59-85.

Grassi, L., "Due proposte per l'esordio di Michelangelo," Paragone, No.

Vasari, G., Le vite de'piui eccellenti pittori, scultori ed architettori, ed. G.
197, 1966, 56-62. Milanesi, 7 vols., Florence, 1878-1881.

Filippino Lippi's Carafa "Annunciation": Theology, Artistic

Conventions, and Patronage

Gail L. Geiger

On March 25, 1493, Pope Alexander VI (1492-1503)
celebrated the Feast of the Annunciation at the Dominican
Priory of S. Maria sopra Minerva in Rome.1 According to
Johannes Burchard, the Pope prayed from a faldstool at
the high altar, then took off his pluvial and miter, put his
hood and stole back on, and went to the new chapel of the
Annunciate belonging to the Cardinal of Naples, Oliviero
Carafa (1430-1511).2
The Pope's visit to the "new" chapel painted by the
Florentine Filippino Lippi (1457/58-1504)3 documents an
early notice of the decorations.4 Although the chapel is
dedicated to both the Virgin Annunciate and Saint
Thomas Aquinas, Burchard's reference to the Cardinal's
chapel as that of the Annunciate may reflect the attention
given by the papal master of ceremonies not only to the
Feastday protocol but also to the dominant painting in the
chapel decorations. For the Pope would have found the
chapel's frescoes organized around an altarpiece that
depicts the Annunciation's sacred theme (Fig. 1).
The painting shows the Archangel Gabriel's arrival
before the Virgin, his pale blue, green, and cream-colored
robes swirling about his body as his wings settle him into

1 Unnoticed in the literature is a remark by Johannes Burchard for March
25, 1493 that Pope Alexander VI celebrated Mass in S. Maria sopra
Minerva and visited the "new" Carafa Chapel: "Quo facto, pontifex
fecit orationem in faldistorio ante altare; deinde, deposito pluviale et
mitra, reasumpto capucino sub stola, venit ad capellam novam Annun-
ciate per r.d. cardinalem Neapolitanum factum." Iohannes Burchardus,
Liber Notarum, ed. Enrico Celani, in Ludovico Antonio Muratori, Rerum
Italicarum Scriptores, Citta di Castello, 1900f., xxxii, Pt. 1, 1-11.
2 On October 28 or 29, 1486, Cardinal Oliviero Carafa paid for property
to amplify his chapel, presumably not long after acquiring it. Archivio di
Stato, Rome, Notari Capitolini, 499, fols. 21v-22r, Notary Andreas di
Carusiis, referred to by Bertelli, 115 and n. 4. The document is sum-
marized in an index to the now lost archives at S. Maria sopra Minerva,
Campione, o sia generale Descrizione di tutte le Scritture spettanti al
Venerabile Convento di S. Maria sopra Minerva di Roma, compiled by
Giacomo Reginaldo Quadri, 1757, Ms, Minerva Archive, I, 152-53.
3 Filippino painted the Carafa Chapel, his first large-scale fresco commis-
sion and only Roman work, between 1488 and 1493. By 1488 he had es-
tablished his reputation in Florence, as the Sforza agent report shows.
See Scharf, Doc. xxvii, 102. The frescoes were restored in 1961 by the
Istituto di Restauro, Rome, and published by C. Bertelli, "I1 restauro
della Cappella Carafa in S. Maria sopra Minerva a Roma," Bollettino del-
l'lstituto Centrale del Restauro, 145-195.
4The terminus date for Filippino's Chapel decorations is disputed.
Burchard's reference to the "new" Chapel on March 25, 1493 may in-
dicate the recent completion of the decorations. The Pope visited the
Chapel again on May 19, 1493 and issued a Bull granting indulgences to
worshippers there. The Bull was inscribed on a plaque inserted in the
right wall of the Chapel on June 14, 1493. Bertelli has interpreted the Bull
to mean that the Pope celebrated the Feast of the Virgin's Nativity at the
Chapel in September of 1492 and he thus concludes that the decorations
were finished at that time. Bertelli, 116 and n. 9. The Pope's presence
alone does not necessarily mean that Filippino's work was finished either
in September, 1492 or March, 1493. Burchard's diary is incomplete for
these months. For the text of the Bull, see Bullarium Ordinis Fratrum
Praedicatorum, ed. T. Ripoll and A. Bremond, 8 vols., Rome, 1729-1740,
III, 99.

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 FILIPPINO LIPPI'S CARAFA ANNUNCIATION 63

r .. - 2110.1~~

kl-

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dim,

fAff

. . . . .. . . . . . . .

- - - - - - - -

1 Filippino Lippi. The

Annunciation. Rome,
S. Maria sopra Minerva,
Carafa Chapel
(photo: G.F.N.)

theDo
r
hallw
Vir
towa
bo
bloss
Al
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en

5 Sain
tha
white,
be
Filippi

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64 THE ART BULLETIN MARCH 1981 VOLUME LXIII NUMBER 1

delicate features, with wide lowered eyelids set above high, basic tenets of the doctrine must be reviewed briefly.
full cheeks, a thin nose turned down slightly, and round- The Annunciation as described in the Gospel according
ed, closed lips above a small pointed chin. She wears her to Saint Luke was the source most often used by
hair partially caught up on either side of her head in theologians, discussed by commentators, and adapted by
twisted loops, the rest falling loose over a simple red dress artists. In the Summa Theologica,8 Saint Thomas
which she drapes with a blue robe lined in green.6 Sur- enumerates the major theological points found in the
prisingly, the Virgin, in her slightly turned position, faces Gospel and says that the Annunciation had a "three-fold
Cardinal Carafa, who kneels reverently before her, his purpose." First, Gabriel's salutation to Mary was intended
gaze directed toward the Archangel. The profile of the to "draw her attention to the consideration of a matter of
Cardinal's lean, bony face, with its sharp long nose, deep such moment," and included the important passages
sunken eyes, and thin mouth, looks stark against the about the Virgin's "worthiness of the conception" of
shadows of the room's interior.7 Just behind Carafa stands Christ. Secondly, Gabriel gave her "instruction" and in-
his sponsor, Saint Thomas Aquinas, who supportively formation about the "mystery of the Incarnation."
touches the Cardinal's shoulder as if about to make a Finally, he had to obtain the Virgin's "consent" that she
presentation. The Virgin, Carafa, and Saint Thomas oc- was willing to participate in the Incarnation. Although
cupy a platform that covers the right two thirds of the these three purposes remained fundamental for the inter-
foreground and ends behind the group in an alcove with a
pretation of the Annunciation, by the fifteenth century
emphasis had begun to change so that priority was given
bookshelf and a curtain tied to the right. A decorated pier,
behind and to the left of the Virgin, supports an arch to physical descriptions of the Virgin and her role as man's
which spans the end of a barrel-vaulted hallway running Mediator for Divine Grace.
perpendicular to the foreground plane. Within thisMajor works on Mariological doctrine were written by
setting, Filippino's four large figures dominate the com- two quattrocento Tuscan theologians, San Bernardino of
position. Siena (1380-1444) and Saint Antoninus of Florence (1389-
For the Pope, the altarpiece must have seemed unusual, 1459),9 both of whom articulated many of the ideas
however impressive, since the integration of Cardinal current in the popular imagination and shared by Italian
Carafa's portrait into the Annunciation makes the artists. San Bernardino's sermon on the Annunciation
painting a rare version of the theme. Filippino's reasons given during 1427 in the Campo at Siena exemplifies these
for executing his commission in this manner are complex, ideas. He began with the standard account in the Gospel of
but among the relevant aspects to be considered here are Saint Luke, referring to the stages of the Annunciation as
the theological meaning of the Annunciation and its ar- "wonders." Then, instead of giving instruction on the
tistic conventions, the incidence of contemporary por- mystery of the Incarnation, as one might expect, San Ber-
traiture added to religious paintings in both Northern nardino chose rather to develop the commendation of the
practice and Southern theory, and Dominican meditation Virgin, a customary opportunity to extol her virtues.
imagery. Of no less importance for a full understanding of Significantly, his third wonder was not the Virgin's con-
the painting is the significance of Cardinal Carafa to Filip- sent to participate in the Incarnation, but the Archangel's
pino in the intention and achievement of this late request for her mediation for Divine Grace: Sancta Maria,
fifteenth-century Roman commission. ora pro nobis. San Bernardino, presupposing her consent
to participate in the Incarnation, calls her the "tabernacle"
1. Theological Background of Christ.1o When Mary acceded to Gabriel's request, she
The Carafa Annunciation depicts not only the Incarna- became an integral part of the doctrine of Christ's sacrifice
tion of Christ, but also the related role of Mary as Inter- for the redemption of mortal sin.
cessor in man's quest for salvation. In order to clarify the The Virgin's dual role as the instrument of the Incarna-
connection between the visual and theological interpreta- tion and as Mediatrix is also explicit in Saint Antoninus's
tion of the Annunciation in the later quattrocento, the Summa Sacrae Theologiae, his major contribution to

6 Also Saint Antoninus commented on the Virgin's beauty as based faello,"

on Archivum Fratrum Praedicatorum, xxxvIII, 1968, 149-164.
her perfectly balanced humors, which determined her medium height,
8 Saint Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica ii1.30.4. Question 30 treats
her red and white complexion, and her hair color. Antoninus Iv. 15. 11. I
"Of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin"; Article 4, "Whether the
(Df., 982f.). For the Virgin's Perugino-like hair style, see B. Berenson,
Annunciation Took Place in Becoming Order?" Also see Michael Baxan-
Three Essays in Method, Oxford, 1927, 75-86, esp. 77-78. dall, Painting and Experience in Fifteenth Century Italy, Oxford, 1974,
7 Filippino's portrait would appear to be an excellent likeness of Carafa,
49-56.

confirmed by both the artist's reputation for portraiture and a later image
9 Le prediche volgari di San Bernardino da Siena dette nella pi
of Carafa in marble by T. Malvito in the succorpo at the Cathedral Campo
of l'anno MCCCCXXVII, ed. Luciano Banchi, Siena, 1884,
Naples. See F. Strazzullo, "La Cappella Carafa del Duomo di Napoli mon
in xxix, "Della Annunziazione della Vergine gloriosa Mari
un poemetto del primo cinquecento," Napoli nobilissima, v, fasc. 1, 1966,
429; Antoninus Iv. 15. 8. If.
19-31, fig. 14 and Anderson photo 25200. De Maio's identification of
10 Le prediche (as in note 9), 391-92.
Carafa in Raphael's Disputa is more problematic. See Romeo de Maio,
"Savonarola, Oliviero Carafa, Tommaso de Vio e la Disputa di Raf-

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 FILIPPINO LIPPI'S CARAFA ANNUNCIATION 65

"; e~
,C) 41,

i V4 jgr

i :Ii;L1r
*,
.?
i

.,
%~? .

&~. ~? i
~ci

~: s~*++

2 Paolo
3 Soldin
Anonymous, A
Florence,
Lat. 362,S.
fol.M
Ir
fol. 260r (pho
Gallerie)

saint to
apply."1

2. Artistic Conventions
Despite the theological importance of the petition,
Sancta Maria, ora pro nobis, fifteenth-century artists of
the Annunciation seldom included it, since to have com-
bined the dual theme effectively they would have been re-
quired to join the Annunciation's active adlocutio motifl2
with a static image of supplication. Furthermore, such a
dual action would have forced the Virgin to recognize two
separate "salutations" at the same time. Consequently,
throughout the trecento and quattrocento in Italy, the An-
Ar f
nunciation most often contained only Gabriel's salutation
to the Virgin. Artists chose to present human supplication
for Divine Intercession as a separate theme with the image
of a kneeling mortal whose patron saint presents him or
her to the enthroned Virgin and Child. In rare instances,
however, Annunciations included the supplication theme
through the presence of mortal observers, though strict
rules of decorum determined their appearance and
segregated them from divine beings. Sometimes, especially
during the fourteenth century, the scale of figures dis-
tinguished the hierarchy, as an illumination from a
trecento Psalter intended for the Dominicans at S. Maria
Novella in Florence illustrates (Fig. 2).13 When artists
4 depicted mortals in fulldi
Girolamo scale, they normally
Giov placed them
discreetly outside(photo:
Pinacoteca the sacred precinct containing the
Virgin. In Girolamo di Giovanni da Camerino's
fifteenth-centu
Annunciation, painted about mid-century, two donors are
toninus emphasi
placed to the far left beneath an archway (Fig. 4),14 while
followed only
in an Annunciation which serves as the frontispiece for
Saint Jerome's Minor premis
theological Works, executed about 1459, a car-
acceptance at
dinal donor and saints larger than life-sizethe
kneel outside

11 Antoninus iv. 15. 10; Iv. 15. 14. See also Dictionnaire de la thIologie13 The Annunciation in Psalter I, Inv. 560, fol. 260r, S. Marco, Florence
catholique, ed. A. Vacant, E. Mangenot, and E. Amann, Paris, 1927f., Iv,is attributed to Paolo Soldini. It is unusual since Gabriel is omitted. See
2404. Mirella Levi D'Ancona, Miniatura e miniatori a Firenze dal XIV al XVI
12 Saint Antoninus used the term allocuto[nJem in his analysis of secolo.
the An- Documenti per la storia della miniatura, Florence, 1962, 219. See
also Ferdinando Rondoni, Guida del R. Museo Fiorentino di S. Marco,
nunciation in the Gospel of Saint Luke. See Antoninus Iv.15.8.II (A-B,
2nd ed., Florence, 1876, 64-66, who attributes the illumination to P. M.
960). No specific connection with the classical adlocutio seems intended,
Michele Sertini della Casa.
although its application would be appropriate for Gabriel's greeting with
his right arm raised. 14 Berenson, I, 193. See also Antonio Paolucci, "Per Girolamo di Giovanni
da Camerino," Paragone, xxI, 1970, 239, 23-41, esp. 30-31 and n. 11.

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66 THE ART BULLETIN MARCH 1981 VOLUME LXIII NUMBER 1

an architectural screen (Fig. 3).15 About 1466 Filippino's

father, Fra Filippo Lippi, painted an Annunciation for
Jacopo Bellucci who appears to the left of Gabriel and
behind a parapet in the middle ground of the painting.16
The discussion thus far suggests that Filippino's own
work departs from some of the traditional conventions
used to represent the Annunciation. One significant
departure from convention, however, prior to Filippino
and surely known to him was another Annunciation by J6.(

Fra Filippo, painted after 1452 for the Oratory of the

Larioni at Pian di Ripoli near Florence (Fig. 5).17
Fra Filippo represents Gabriel's traditional appearance vdl

to the Virgin from the left, accompanied by the Dove of

the Holy Spirit. The Archangel kneels quietly and hands
the Virgin a blooming lily stalk. She has risen from her 41 1

prie-Dieu, stands at its edge and accepts the lilies, inclin-

ing her head slightly and glancing down solemnly at
Gabriel. Contrary to the usual conventions, Fra Filippo
places the Virgin equidistant from Gabriel and the two
kneeling donors at the far right. Moreover, the two men,
without a sponsor, occupy the Virgin's sacred space since
they kneel at a balustrade raised off the floor and connect-
ed to the prie-Dieu. In this way Fra Filippo conveys the
idea that they are within Mary's territory and therefore 5 Fra Filippo Lippi, Annunciati
under her protection. (photo: G.F.N.)
Like his father, Filippino places the Virgin Annunciate
equidistant from Gabriel and the patron in order to give
equal emphasis to Mary's role both in the Incarnation and
in Mediation for human attainment of Divine Grace. But
unlike his father, Filippino integrates the double theme as she turns her body away
in his composition by creating greater psychological and although her raised right ha
spatial unity. First, while Fra Filippo's Virgin recognizes sponse to Gabriel, it more dire
only Gabriel, the Carafa Virgin acknowledges both the the Chapel's patron.
Archangel's arrival and the patron's presence. She receives Secondly, both artists place
Gabriel's salutation by placing her left hand on her breast similar platforms that cut d
and by glancing sideways in his direction. Indeed, her foreground plane. Fra Filippo
gesture is so similar to that of another Virgin Annunciate bolizes the close relationship
by Fra Filippo, in the choir of Spoleto Cathedral,18 that it divine advocate and balances
might be considered simply as a further sign of the mod- the sharp recession on the left
esty she normally displayed at Gabriel's words. Unlike donors also appear in the righ
the Spoleto figure, however, the Virgin faces the Cardinal the viewer's space.20 Notwith

patched, perhaps
15 See MS Vat. lat. 362, Saint Jerome, Minor owing to the later insertion
Works, of a tabernacle
1459, in for the Holy Cen
Fifth
Sacrament. See Bertelli
tenary of the Vatican Library, 1475-1975, Vatican(as in noteCity,
3), 168-69. Usually
1975, 15th-century
No. 33, p.
tabernacles were
16. For a discussion of the illumination and inserted
itsin the wall to the side of the altar.to
relationship See Charles
Northern
RohaultAnnonciation
prototypes, see J. Ruysschaert, "Une de Fleury, La Messe, 8 vols., Paris, 1883-89, II, 77. Also
inspir&e desee Hans
Roger de
la Pasture dans un manuscrit romain de 1459," in Melanges Caspary, Das Sakraments-tabernakel in Italien bis zum Konzil von
d'archeologie et d'histoire de l'art offerts au Prof. J. Lavalleye, Louvain, Trent, Gestalt, Ikonographie und Symbolik, kultische Funktion, Ph.D.
1970, 249-258. I wish to thank Dr. Ursula Nilgen for bringing this il- diss., Ludwig-Maximilians Universitait, Munich, 1964. Following the
lumination to my attention. Council of Trent, San Carlo Borromeo instructed that the tabernacle be
16 Marchini, fig. 156. moved onto the altar, preferably in a round or octagonal shape. See San
Carlo Borromeo, Instructiones Fabricae et Supellectilis Ecclesiasticae, in
17 Ibid., fig. 39.
Trattati d'arte del Cinquecento, ed. Paola Barocchi, 3 vols., Bari, 1962, III,
18 Ibid., fig. 171. 1-113, esp. 22-24. Whether the Carafa altar was cut for the placement of
19 For Fra Filippo's compositional use of the cut-step motif, see John a tabernacle remains a question. Interestingly enough, the Confraternity
White, The Birth and Rebirth of Pictorial Space, London, 1959, chap. xII, of the Holy Sacrament at the Minerva was approved by Pope Paul III on
170-188, esp. 176. November 30, 1539. See the Enciclopedia cattolica, Vatican City, Iv,
1950, 263.
20 The central, lower section of the Carafa altarpiece and the frame are

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 FILIPPINO LIPPI'S CARAFA ANNUNCIATION 67

chamber with the Virgin may reflect Northern conven-

share with the Virgin, Fra Filippo circumscribes his mor-
tions that had filtered to the South. Moreover, the more
tals' access to the holy event when he places them behind
intimate placement of contemporary figures with the
the balustrade. By contrast, Filippino locates Carafa next
to the Virgin's chair directly confronting Gabriel, Virgin demonstrates dramatically the donor's personal
piety and claim to a privileged relationship to the divine.
although he reduces the impact of Carafa's presence at the
event when he introduces the time-honored convention of Thus, as Erwin Panofsky notes, the portrait draws the at-
a sponsoring saint,21 here Saint Thomas Aquinas, the tention of the viewer directly into the scene,25 for we are
second recipient of the Chapel's dedication. Filippino aware not only of the timeless figures of divinity, but also
thus seems to have developed further the unusual qualities
of the painting's contemporaneity, furthering an interest
first seen in his father's Annunciation of 1452. None- in why the Virgin and the donor are so close.
theless, despite the inclusion of a sponsor, the intimate The probable influence of Northern particularity was
enhanced in the South by Leon Battista Alberti's treatise
relationship that Filippino establishes between his patron
and the protagonists of the Annunciation is rare among On Painting written in 1435.26 Alberti suggests the specific
fifteenth-century Italian treatments of this theme. Several ways that a painting can move the emotions of the observ-
related developments in artistic practice and theory as well er, one of which is the inclusion of "the figure of some
as theology suggest further reasons for such initiative in well-known person." Furthermore, he writes that
the face of artistic convention. "although others executed with greater skill may be con-
Increasingly during the second half of the quattrocento spicious in the picture, the face that is known draws the
in Italy artists included portraits of contemporaries in eyes of all spectators. ..."27 Although Alberti does not
religious scenes. These appeared either as "participants" identify the recognizable person as a donor, he establishes
in the role of personages like Constantine the Great and the theoretical basis for the subsequent use of such por-
Nicodemus or as straightforward portraits in contem- traits to psychological effect in Italian art.
porary dress.22 In both instances, the figures appeared full The artistic reflection of the theory and practice of
scale and enjoyed greater access to the divine image than meditation offers further insight into Filippino's inclusion
previously. Both the growing number of Netherlandish of Carafa's portrait in the Annunciation. This imagery,
paintings in Italy and Alberti's writings stimulated concomitant with the movement of medieval spirituality,
changes in the code of hieratic distinctions which Fra was important during the second quarter of the fifteenth
Filippo and Filippino would have known. century in several large fresco projects that were com-
Northern painting permitted greater latitude in missioned by Dominicans in central Italy.
depicting contact between a donor and a holy person. For Quattrocento authors long had an interest in eleventh-
example, Jan van Eyck's Van der Paele Madonna shows a and twelfth-century spiritual and contemplative
quality of "intimacy" in the relationship between the writings.28 These texts apparently touched a common
donor and the Virgin that is in decided contrast with the chord among later theologians and humanists through
association shown in Piero della Francesca's Brera Altar- what Giles Constable calls "an inward-looking and affec-
piece executed for Federico da Montefeltro.23 In Van tive piety based on a doctrine of contemplation stressing
Eyck's Rolin Madonna, furthermore, the Chancellor ap- personal will, liberty and experience."29 From an early
pears not only without a sponsor, but full scale in the same date, artists reflected these writings30 when they combined
chamber as the Virgin and Child, separated from them within a single image purely didactic and devotional objec-
only by a prie-Dieu.24 Fra Filippo's unusual placement of tives as well as a third intention, the empathetic.31
full-scale, non-sponsored portrait figures in the same Sometimes this imagery consisted of a single devotional

21 The sponsored donor portrait, long used in Italian funerary art, con- of "De Pictura" and "De Statua," ed. and trans. Cecil Grayson, Lon
tinued to be popular in the 15th century. Carafa commissioned such an 1972.
image for his father's tomb in S. Domenico, Naples, 1487. For a 27 Ibid., 101.
photograph of the tomb for Francesco Carafa, see Anderson photo
25468. 28 Giles Constable, "Twelfth-Century Spirituality and the Late Middle
Ages," Medieval and Renaissance Studies, Chapel Hill, N.C., 1971, 27-
22 John Pope-Hennessy, The Portrait in the Renaissance, New
60,York,
esp. 30-31 and nn. 18-20.
1966, chapter vi, "Donor and Participant."
29 Ibid., 32.
23 Erwin Panofsky, Early Netherlandish Painting, 2 vols., Cambridge,
30 Otto Pacht, "The Illustrations of St. Anselm's Prayers and Medita-
Mass., 1953, I, 7 and II, pl. 121.
tions," Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, xIx, 1956, 68-
24 Ibid., ii, pl. 117. 83.

25 Ibid. I, 249 and 273-75.

31 Sixten Ringbom, Icon to Narrative, the Rise of the Dramatic Close-up
26 Leon Battista Alberti, On Painting and On Sculpture: The Latin Texts Century Devotional Painting, Abs, 1956, 12.
in Fifteenth

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68 THE ART BULLETIN MARCH 1981 VOLUME LXIII NUMBER 1

image, an Andachtsbild, at other times a narrative, but in fifteenth-century Psalters and Books of Hours.38 The at-
both instances, the imagery served as a "pictorial aid to tendant figures in fifteenth-century Annunciations are
'contemplative absorption."'32 related to these images of meditation, but their lack of in-
An important correlative of twelfth-century spirituality tegration with the sacred characters reduces their em-
that continued into the fifteenth century was the use of pathetic quality.
books of meditation for systematic devotional practice.33 Although in the earliest years the Dominican Order
With or without illuminations, these meditative guides in- allowed only a limited use of images as an aid to medita-
variably stimulated the devotee's imagination because tion,39 by the end of the first quarter of the fifteenth cen-
they encouraged him to visualize in his own mind the tury Dominicans appear to have developed greater in-
events described in the text. To this end the author of the terest in the use of visual images. Otto von Simson has in-
Meditations on the Life of Christ gave instruction to a nun terpreted Masaccio's Trinity as an early quattrocento por-
of the Poor Clares for whom he probably wrote this text.34 trayal of the meditative tradition inspired by the
Based on the tradition that Saint Cecilia read and meditated Dominicans at S. Maria Novella in Florence.40 The
daily on the Gospels of Christ, the author recommended developments toward the middle of the century at th
the same "studies of spiritual exercise" but he added, not Dominican Priories of S. Marco in Florence and S. Maria
"all things said and done by Him on which we may sopra Minerva in Rome hold greater significance for an
meditate are known to us in writing." Fully to profit from understanding of the background of Filippino's Carafa
such meditation, one must joyfully "be present at the same Annunciation.
things that it is related that Christ did and said."'" This ad- During the 1440's in Florence, Fra Angelico executed
vice is relevant as well for the nun's contemplation of the two types of paintings inspired by meditative intentions.
Annunciation for she should "give heed to understand The first depicted a single figure absorbed in the contem-
everything that was said and done, as though you had plation of Christ's Passion, such as the fresco of Saint
been present."'36 Dominic Before the Cross in S. Marco or the Fogg
Several miniatures in early texts include a supplicating Museum's Crucifixion with the Virgin and Saint John,
or meditating mortal before an enthroned or standing which includes the adoring figure of the Dominican car-
figure of Christ. One of the earliest examples is found in dinal Juan de Torquemada.41 A limited narrative depicting
the twelfth-century illuminations for Saint Anselm'sevents from Christ's life forms the second type, exem-
Prayers and Meditations;37 but such "portraits" of the plified by the scenes that Fra Angelico and his assistants
pious represented in deep devotion before images, par- painted on the cell walls of S. Marco about 1443. Each
ticularly of the Passion, also are found in fourteenth- and fresco includes a Dominican saint meditating upon the

32 See Erwin Panofsky, "'Imago Pietatis,' Ein Beitrag zur 39Early sources encouraged Dominican friars simply to contemplate a
Typengeschichte des 'Schmerzensmanns' und der 'Maria Mediatrix,"'" in crucifix in their cells. See Von Simson (as in note 38), 144-45, who quotes
Festschrift fiir Max J. Friedlidnder zum 60. Geburtstag, Leipzig, 1927, the Vitae Fratrum Fratris Gerardi de Fracheto O.P., Iv, "De Fervore
261-308, 264. For a specific discussion of the narrative, see Rudolf Fratrum Primitivorum," in Monumenta Ordinis Fratrum Praedicatorum
Berliner, "Bemerkungen zu einigen Darstellungen des 'Erl6sers als Historica, ed. B. M. Reichert, Rome-Stuttgart, 1897, 149. Lack of visual
Schmerzensmann,"' Das Miinster, Ix, 1956, 97-117, 117, n. 13. The imagery remarked upon in the sources may indicate the tendency of
quotation is from Ringbom, 54. Dominican spirituality to emphasize contemplation of abstract truths.
3 Constable (as in note 28), 47. See W. A. Hinnebusch, O.P., Dominican Spirituality, Washington, D.C.,
1965. Giovanni Dominici discusses the visual arts only for children. See
34 The English translation is from Meditations on the Life of Christ, an il-
his Regola del governo di cura familiare (1400-1405), ed. D. Salvi,
lustrated manuscript of the 14th century, Paris, Bibliotheque Nationale,
Florence, 1860, Pt. Iv, 131. See also E. Battisti, Cimabue, University Park,
MS Ital. 115, trans. Isa Ragusa, ed. idem and Rosalie B. Green, Princeton, Pa., 1967, 13-14 and nn.
1961. For discussion of the original, central Italian manuscript, its dating,
40 Von Simson (as in note 38) calls the whole fresco a scene of meditation,
and importance, see Livario Oliger, "Le Meditationes Vitae Christi del
Pseudo-Bonaventura," Studi francescani, N.S., vii, 1921, 143-183; vIII, 150. Ursula Schlegel considers it a vision on the part of the two donors
1922, 18-47. represented, "Observations on Masaccio's Trinity Fresco in S. Maria
Novella," Art Bulletin, XLV, 19-33, esp. 30.
35 Ibid., 4-5.
41 Torquemada was the only Dominican cardinal at the time. See
36 Ibid., 15.
Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi, ed. Konrad Eubel, 8 vols., Regensberg,
37 See Pacht (as in note 30), fig. 15a. 1913f., II, 1-10. See also Pope-Hennessy, pls. 66 and 141; M. Noel Valois,
3 Otto von Simson, "Uber die Bedeutung von Masaccios Trinitkitsfresko "Fra Angelico et le Cardinal Jean de Torquemada," Societe Nationale des
in S. Maria Novella," Jahrbuch der Berliner Museen, N.F., viii, 1966, Antiquaires de France, Centinaire Recueil de Memoires, Paris, 1904, 1-
10.
119-59, fig. 9, for the Elisabeth-Psalter, Cividale, Museo Archeologico,
and fig. 11 for the Petites Heures du Duc de Berry, Paris, Bibliotheque
Nationale.

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 FILIPPINO LIPPI'S CARAFA ANNUNCIATION 69

sacred event and thus provides an intermediary spirituallyment of the Confraternity of the Annunciation, his artistic
to aid the occupant of the cell.42 For example, Saint Peterpatronage, and his foundation of the first printing press in
Martyr attends the Annunciation, and though he appearsItaly at Subiaco.45 For all these reaons, the meditative in-
in full scale, he still conforms to the rules of hierarchicaltentions and imagery in Florence and Rome are likely to
distinctions by remaining outside the portico (Fig. 6).have been of great interest to Carafa and almost certainly
Throughout the other scenes, however, the saints arewould have been known to Filippino.
placed nearer the holy figures. In Christ Carrying the Against this background, Carafa's presence within the
Cross with the Virgin and Saint Dominic, Saint DominicAnnunciation may have been acceptable to contem-
stands close to Christ.43. poraries because the scene was understood to represent the
In Rome, Cardinal Torquemada commissioned a series Cardinal's meditation upon the mystery of the Annuncia-
of frescoes for the cloister of S. Maria sopra Minerva tion.46 Nevertheless the Carafa altarpiece remained special
sometime before 1468. Leandro Alberti's early descriptions among fifteenth-century Dominican Annunciations, as
tell us that the frescoes portrayed scenes and explicative can be seen from a comparison with the Annunciation
epigrams similar to those in the Cardinal's Meditations of commissioned from Antoniazzo Romano in 1499 by the
1467, the first illustrated book printed in Italy.44 The Confraternity of the Annunciation for its chapel in S.
frescoes have been destroyed, but the thirty-four woodcuts Maria sopra Minerva.47 Like the Carafa Annunciation,
remain to indicate the themes: the Creation of the World, this composition shows not only Gabriel's salutation but
the Creation of Adam, the Temptation and Life of Christ. also another action, Cardinal Torquemada (a posthumous
Among these only one woodcut includes a meditating portrait) presenting to the Virgin three destitute young
figure, a Dominican cardinal kneeling before Saint Sixtus, girls who were the wards of the Confraternity (Fig. 8).48
the patron saint of the church for which Torquemada was The Virgin both accepts Gabriel's salutation and dis-
titular Cardinal (Fig. 7). tributes purses for the girls' dowry. Unlike Filippino's
The presence of these Florentine and Roman frescoes in representation of Cardinal Carafa, however, Cardinal
Dominican priories closely associated with Saint An- Torquemada and his charges remain in small scale. The
toninus and Cardinal Torquemada, the most famous meditation tradition, therefore, can only partially explain
Dominican theologians of their day, must reflect common the liberty Filippino took in integrating a contemporary
interest in meditation imagery even though we lack figure, even one sponsored by Saint Thomas, within this
specific "programs" from either one. Fra Angelico's particularly mystical religious scene.
residence at both priories during the 1440's as well as the
type of fresco he was creating lends additional support for 3. The Patron
the hypothesis that his work reflects these common Filippino's emphasis on Carafa's personal piety and
interests. privileged relationship to the Virgin brings us to the most
Cardinal Carafa would, of course, have been well aware important element in this discussion: Carafa's own wish
of these mid-century Dominican decorations, since he to be represented in this way. Supported by doctrinal
shared many of Cardinal Torquemada's beliefs and in- justification and by imagery that increasingly showed a
terests. The most important of these were the Spanish strong rapport between mortals and divine beings, Carafa
Cardinal's insistence on papal supremacy, his establish- apparently justified the artistic license in the Annuncia-

42 Close relationships between saints and Christ appear in earlier works meditationes praecipuas utriusq[ue] instrumenti graphice inscriptas, ut
such as the Crucifixion by the school of Giotto in the Lower Church of S. facilius picturae dignosci valea[n]t iussit apponi."
Francesco, Assisi, and in Taddeo Gaddi's Tree of Life, ca. 1340-1350, in 45 R. P. Mortier, Histoire des Maitres Generaux de l'Ordre des Freres
S. Croce, Florence. See Alastair Smart, The Assisi Problem and the Art of Precheurs, Paris, 1911, v, 25, says Carafa carried on Torquemada's
Giotto, Oxford, 1971, pl. 36b, and John White, Art and Architecture patronage of printing.
in Italy: 1250-1400, Baltimore, 1966, fig. 121.
46 Pope-Hennessy (as in note 22), 265, remarked that Filippino's "spec-
43 Pope-Hennessy, 184 and fig. xxiii. tator portraits" of Carafa and, in the Adoration (1496), of Piero Fran-
44 Johannes de Turrecremata Meditationes (facs. of 1467 ed. in cesco de'Medici, suggest that each observed the scene as if it was "re-
Stadtbibliothek Nurenberg), ed. Heinz Zernbauer, Wiesbaden, 1968. For created in his imagination or re-enacted for his benefit."
Torquemada's Meditations and their relationship to the cloister, see Luigi
47 G. Noehles, Antoniazzo Romano, Studien zur Quattrocentomalerei in
de Gregori, Del chiostro della Minerva e del primo libro con figure stam-
Rom, Ph.D. diss., Miinster, 1973, 212-213, Doc. 47, p. 283.
pato in Italia, Florence, 1927, 18ff. The frescoes have been attributed to
Fra Angelico by Stefano Orlandi, Beato Angelico, Florence, 1964, 128f;
48 Despite the importance of this Confraternity at the Minerva, no
documentation remains to show its effect upon the Carafa Annunciation,
to Melozzo da Forli by A. Schmarsow, Melozzo da Forli, Berlin, 1886, 58;
perhaps because the most important years for the Chapel are missing
and to Antoniazzo Romano by J. J. Berthier, L'Eglise de la Minerve at
Rome, Rome, 1910, 10f. Thus their uncertain date varies from the late from the documents in the Archivo di Stato, Rome. See Arciconfraternitai
1440's to 1468. Leandro Alberti, De Viris Illustribus Ordinis della SS.ma Annunziata, Rincontri di entrata ed uscita del Camerlengo,
No. 548-554 (years 1476 through 1499 with a gap between 1489 and
Praedicatorum, Bologna, 1517, Bk. III, 83, describes the cloister frescoes:
1492). Antoniazzo Romano's Annunciation reflects a yearly ceremony
"Sicq[ue] primum aedium impluviu[m] praelibati Templi (quod
held at the Minerva; described by Montaigne, Journal de voyage en Italie
claustrum vocant) a fundamentis erexit, et exornavit picturis quibus
... 1580 et 1581, ed. Maurice Rat, Paris, 3rd. ed., 1955, 129.

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70 THE ART BULLETIN MARCH 1981 VOLUME LXIII NUMBER 1

6 Fra Angelico, Annunciation. Florence, S. Marco (photo:

Anderson)

7 Woodcut illustration of a Dominican before Saint Sixtus, from

Juan de Torquemada, Meditationes, 1467, meditatio xxix, fol.
52v (photo: British Museum)

8 Antoniazzo Romano, Annunciation. Rome, S. Maria sopra

i-,
Minerva (photo: Alinari)
g,
r: ~:
.. i?
~ 8 f~7~99~ ~r~ /: it
?. ~? ??? I ~I I
I*
xi: B
??
.r.
i

...
; ii, tion by the importance of his own position to the Domini-
can Order during these years. In 1483 he assumed the
Is?

:t
3
5 ...,
:r., i ' i
Suburbicarian seat of S. Sabina, the Early Christian
-Ih ~, i ' r'
? basilica acquired by Saint Dominic and his followers in
r~ Y
1221 which became the refuge of Saint Thomas when he
i

fled from his family in 1242.49 By 1488 he had become

i

'6:
i r
-?t \.~. ?
Cardinal Protector of the Order and held unprecedented
i

;?1 ?. ,
1:
power by controlling the appointment of the Dominican
t'~ t"J i,
Master General, defending and interceding on the Order's
behalf at the Holy See, adroitly demanding reforms and
iC?' -j
~P~? ,I? ''i

?::J. .....:??
arbitrating disputes.5s Thus the Cardinal acquired his
- ? : ??- ?-
-?--? ~?;
chapel at S. Maria sopra Minerva within a decade of his
c...C~71=:.?
.?-~~:?? , :: u`'? c
-i . ??~ ~-. e, II ~P~ " ~rrrrW?lf~L~' I 'r=I ?r
rise to a dominant position in the Order's administration.
Moreover, Carafa's leadership of the Order's institutional
reform emanated from his belief in a strong, centralized
.' L-`;''-~ ?~---_ ------- ---I .--- -? Church firmly anchored in law and doctrine.5' Yet this
itI-.' orthodoxy was coupled with his progressive interest in
Cc?-; _-?j ;?~Ih. :Z r the arts and letters, the support of a circle of "humanist-
theologians," and a dedication to education.52 The Chapel
decorations, therefore, located in the important Domini-
can Priory of the Minerva with the Master General in
residence and its school for novices, were intended to
convey to the Order the "Magnificence" of the Cardinal

U i/

'4/ (x4

49 J. J. Berthier, L'Eglise de Sainte-Sabine ai Rome, Rome, 1910. W. A.

Hinnebusch, O. P., A History of the Dominican Order, New York, 1970,
I, 90.

so Carafa assumed this position in 1478, retaining it for thirty years. See
S. L. Forte, The Cardinal Protector of the Dominican Order (Institutum
Historicum FF. Praedicatorum, Romae ad Sanctae Sabinae, Disser-
r:. ~ ~ ~ !?L- i
tationes Historicae, xv), Rome, 1959. For Carafa's control over the ap-
pointment of the Master General of the Order, hitherto accomplished
within the Order itself, see Mortier (as in note 45), iv, regarding the elec-
tion of Bartolomeo Comagio in 1484-85. Also see I. Wodka, "Zur
Geschichte der nationalen Protektorate der Kardintile an der romischen
Kurie," Publikationen des Osterreichischen Historisches Instituts in
Rom, iv, 1938.
"lip r$ 51 See Romeo de Maio, Savonarola e la Curia romana, Rome, 1969;
Leonce Celier, "Alexandre VI et la reforme de l'Eglise," Melanges
d'archeologie et d'histoire, xxvii, 1907, 65-124; and L. Pastor, Storia dei
i
papi, trans. A. Mercati, et al., 4th ed., Rome, 1950-1963, III, Doc. 41,
IL~~~:~leA~a;it; 898-99.

52 Carafa's patronage has been treated by F. Strazzullo, "Il Card. Ol

Carafa Mecenate del Rinascimento," 'Atti' dell' Accademia Pontan
N.S., xiv, 1965, 1-24.

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 FILIPPINO LIPPI'S CARAFA ANNUNCIATION 71

as a patron and as an exemplary individual.53 Indeed,now very darkened, simulates the Cardinal's burial cham-
ber which lies adjacent to the Chapel's east wall (Fig. 9).56
the official importance of the Chapel is clear from the oc-
casional papal Masses said there and the Bull inscribed onThere can be no doubt that the coffered vault in the altar-
the plaque set into the right wall in which Pope Alexanderpiece, with the Cardinal's arms in the center, reflects the
granted indulgences to worshippers. burial vault's actual stucco molding around frescoed
The official nature of the Chapel was accompanied by afields, the Cardinal's arms again occupying the central
private one, and this brings our discussion back moremedallion (Figs. 10-11). The inclusion of the burial cham-
directly to the altarpiece. Carafa apparently intended theber in the altarpiece would indicate that Filippino planned
Chapel to be his burial place.54 The organizing theme ofits vault decoration early in his work on the Carafa
the Chapel decorations, a Thomistic interpretation ofChapel, even though Vasari states that Raffaellino del
God's plan for man's salvation, culminates in the altar- Garbo actually painted the side chamber's coffered fields
piece with the expressed hope of Carafa's own successful somewhat later.57 Moreover, Filippino's allusion to the
petition for Divine Grace and its implied model for othersburial chamber in the Annunciation is not incidental but
willing to follow his example. Furthermore, the merits ofintegral to the altar's iconographical meaning. The frescoes
Carafa's virtuous, exemplary life were enhanced becausein the burial chamber include heraldic symbols, allegories,
his mother was distantly related to the family of Saintpurely decorative images and a series of narratives devoted
Thomas, something the Cardinal's contemporaries to the ancient heroine Virginia whose father preferred her
remembered throughout his life.55 In the altarpiece Saintdeath rather than her loss of virtue.58 Like the decorations
Thomas almost seems to be sponsoring someone who was in antique burial chambers, the imagery of triumphant
more than a mere mortal petitioner. purity and virtue in Carafa's burial chamber implies final
Filippino reinforced the idea of Carafa's personal and victory over death.59 As will be seen, the same meaning
optimistic hopes for salvation through other images in the translated into Christian terms appears in the altarpiece.
Annunciation. First, the hallway behind Gabriel at the left, The altarpiece's hallway, which is closed by a door now

53 Paolo Cortesi places magnificentia in the category De Virtutibus preparation of two chapels, the present location of Carafa's remains is
Moralibus. Paolo Cortesi, De Cardinalatu, Castro Cortesi, 1510, Bk. vIII. unknown.
Saint Thomas discusses the concept in the Summa Theologica, Iia.IIae, Q 5 Tommaso de Vio, Commentaria in Porphyrii Isagogen ad
134, A. 1-2. He says that one could prove one's "Magnificence" by doing Praedicamenta Aristotelis (ca. 1497), ed. P. Isnardus M. Marega, Rome
something great, especially for the glory of God: "Et ideo magnificentia 1934, lxxxiii. In the dedicatory epistle to Carafa, he writes, "Quod
praecipue magnum opus fecit in ordine ad honorem Dei." The fun- quaminus facturum te ab solam benignitatem et singularem tuam (et
damental source, however, is Aristotle, in the Nicomachean Ethics iv. spero) propensius cumulatisque Thomae Aquinatis (cui maternum genu
2, 5ff: "The magnificent man is an artist in expenditure ... Now there are prosapia tua clarissima profundit) operibus summopere delectaris." Th
some forms of expenditure definitely entitled honorable, for instance ex- original dedicatory copy is in the archive of S. Clemente, Rome, amon
penditure on the service of the gods - votive offerings; public buildings, incunabula brought from S. Maria della Pace. Carafa left his library t
sacrifices - and the offices of religion generally ..." Aristotle, The the Congregation of the Canons Regular of the Lateran housed there,
Nicomachean Ethics, trans. H. Rackham, London/Cambridge, Mass., recorded in his Last Will. I wish to thank Leonard E. Boyle, O.P., for
1962, 207ff. See also A. D. Fraser Jenkins, "Cosimo de Medici's bringing Tommaso de Vio's dedication copy for Carafa to my attention
Patronage of Architecture and the Theory of Magnificence," Journal of See also A. Ciaconius, Vitae et Res Gestae Pontificum, Rome, 1677, iI,
the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, xxxIII, 1970, 162-170. 1101.

54 This complex issue begins with Carafa's Last Will in which he re-
quested burial in the Minerva and then later transfer to the Cathedral in
Naples. Strazzullo (as in note 52), 148-52. However, the chapel in Naples
was built to house the relics of Saint Januarius; permission to transfer
these was not given before 1490. See F. Strazzullo, "La politica di
Ferrante I nei reflessi della translazione delle ossa di S. Gennaro," 'Atti'
dell' Accademia Pontaniana, N.S. xv, 1966, 1-19. Initially, it appears that
the Roman chapel, acquired in 1486, was to be the final burial place.
Burial would have been in the side chamber, which is the room Vasari
referred to in his Life of Filippino, so long misinterpreted: "... fece per il
detto cardinale una sepoltura di stucchi e di gesso, in uno spartimento (di)
una cappellina allato a quella della detta chiesa...." Giorgio Vasari, Le
vite de'piu' eccellenti pittori, scultori e architettori, ed. Rossana Bettarini,
commentary Paola Barocchi, Florence, 1966f, Testo III, 564. The inscrip-
tion for Carafa's burial place, now lost, is recorded in F. Ughelli, Italia
sacra, 2nd ed., ed. N. Coletus, 10 vols., Venice, 1717-1722, VI, 150:
OLIVERII CARRAFAE NEAPOLITANI ORDINIS
PRAEDICATORUM PROTECTORIS, RARI EXEMPLI DEPOSITUM,
QUI VIXIT ANN. LXXX MENS. X DIES X. SACRI SENATUS OR-
NAMENTUM. OBIIT XIII. KAL. FEBRUARII RELIGIOSE, IN-
TREPIDEQUE. MAGNO SUI DESIDERIO RELICTO. Despite
56 Late 15th-century paintings do not often depict their own location. Fra
Angelico does so, however, in cell 35 of the convent at S. Marco where,
for the Institution of the Eucharist, he paints the tile roof and small
arched window of the south cloister wall as if seen through the windows
of the room. For the cloister, see L. Berti, B. Bellardoni, and E. Battisti,
Angelico a San Marco, Rome, 1965, fig. 77; for the fresco, see M.
Wingenroth, Angelico da Fiesole, Bielefeld and Leipzig, 1926, fig. 76.
57 See Vasari (as in note 54), 564. Although referred to by Berthier (as in
note 44), 195, the critical literature did not include this room in discus-
sions of the Chapel until after the restoration of 1961. See C. Bertelli,
"Filippino Lippi riscoperto," Il veltro, viI, 1963, 55-65. The vault
becomes one of the earliest Renaissance examples of an interlocking,
compartmentalized ceiling modeled on the antique. See J. Schulz,
Venetian Ceiling Paintings of the Renaissance, Berkeley, 1968, 71.
Giuliano da Sangallo sketched a similar type in his notebook, II taccuino
senese di Giuliano Sangallo, ed. R. Falb, Siena, 1902, xIv.
S58See Bertelli (as in note 57), and Livy, Ab Urbe Condita, trans. B. O.
Foster et al., 14 vols., London, 1957-1962, ii, 3.xlivf.
59 See J. Toynbee and John Ward-Perkins, The Shrine of St. Peter, Lon-
don, 1956, esp. chap. Iv.

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72 THE ART BULLETIN MARCH 1981 VOLUME LXIII NUMBER 1

;r C
r 1, J
F::" "
f
lr(s

'd: .1.i
-I

Z?".~;~Ft~r rl'Rt I
.; '5c~ ?, ?? _.-?..??.-- .....-.r? :i.
3 t " ?? L?

?s.~ c?.
7 N1 1 '?

'cit? G~
~.,:?~j~?~
3;\
7 N
:4

/ ,.
7 N "~-??`;Q~CI;.?, I,
+
7 N
1 r. :r;
-

RI ,1 9
?:r

ZT

IPRE /486
U e3 ./8-8 ~O P
:r~;tc-?

C -- -&S

A53 /S6 r-: VI, :

-?? -
1_2: :?

i Cr ?i?: ~?s??; I)::I

9 Carafa Chapel, plan (drawing: Narciso Menocal and the i , ?r=--

--'-.; 7 B~1P?s~-_$?
author) 1. Side Chamber, 2. Entrance to side chamber, 3. :~~P~R~ISB~C~?? il? ~ It Irr~
~
r? -r,

Suggested location of former opening between main chapel and ~"

-?;

side chamber, 4. Present location of the tomb for Pope Paul IV, 5. ???

Main chapel, 6. Altar, 7. Balustrade. ~-~ I

P L

j~- :?B-~I (1
E::

difficult to see, relates to a visual tradition that employed i;

1

?r?
:
.,
Yr. . ?,

;~:t: :Lvs. r
such passageways to indicate the Virgin's purity as the *.$ O
~ru~,i

vehicle of Christ's Incarnation. The simulated coffered

~
vault of the hallway parallels those representations of the i:

Annunciation which include an arched passageway closed ?91-

I1LB~Y~P~A .1
~. ...

either by the garden - the hortus conclusus - or the porta .?

.. --- - --- . -+

clausa, symbols of Mary's virginity. Both Fra Filippo's r"e

Annunciation and Benedetto da Majano's Annunciation in

marble relief for the Mastrogiudici Altar in S. Anna dei 10 Filippino Lippi
Lombardi (Monte Oliveto), Naples, show a type of trium- vault, Carafa Chap
G.F.N.)
phal archway leading to the secluded garden.60 The closed
gate is more unusual. Piero della Francesca represented a
symbolic gate at the end of a portico in the Annunciation
for the Saint Anthony polyptych in Perugia.61 Domenico
Veneziano and Fra Angelico both utilized a gate seen be-
yond a garden in the rear center of their Annunciations.62
In the Carafa Annunciation the closed door at the end of
the hallway may also suggest a porta clausa.
t4t
7Xv;

The Book of Ezekiel, considered by Churchmen to con-

tain a prefiguration of the Annunciation, indicates the
closed gate as the primary image of Mary's virginity.63
Glossed by numerous commentators, particularly Saint
Jerome, this symbolism continued to be important when
..

Saint Antoninus wrote his Summa. In Book Iv, for exam-

ple, Saint Antoninus discusses the privileges of Grace
which derive from the Virgin and comments on the porta

60 For Benedetto da Majano, see J. Pope-Hennessy, Italian Renaissance

Sculpture, London, 1958, fig. 47.
. ....... ..
61 See Kenneth Clark, Piero della Francesca, 2nd ed., London, 1969, figs.
124-27.

11 Detail
62 For Domenico Veneziano, see Mario Salmi, Paolo Uccello, Andrea del of Fig. 1 (photo: G.F.N.)
Castagno, Domenico Veneziano, Rome, 1935, pl. CLXXXVII; for Fra
Angelico, Pope-Hennessy, fig. 124.
63 Ezekiel 44:1-3.

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 FILIPPINO LIPPI'S CARAFA ANNUNCIATION 73

clausa.64 As Frederick Hartt has pointed out, Saint An- refers to Saint Thomas and his teaching of the Word.
toninus understands the porta clausa to symbolize Mary's Suggesting a Thomistic interpretation is the position of
virginity at Christ's Conception, and to imply the related the open book in the Chapel pavement oriented towards
issue of man's salvation, his entry into the heavenly city of the frescoes representing Saint Thomas (Fig. 14). Finally,
Jerusalem.65 The key issue was the Virgin's own purity the books in the altarpiece probably should be understood
which qualified her to serve as the Mother of Christ and as to convey still a third meaning, the Book of Life from
the primary advocate for humankind's difficult66 entry Revelation. The open book, an image Saint Thomas dis-
into the City of God. Saint Antoninus concludes his dis- cusses extensively, contains a list of names selected by
cussion by emphasizing that faith in Christ, born of the God for salvation.70 Carafa's own predestination may be
Virgin, leads to Heaven where man will find two gates to implied here by the open book above the door in the
the temple, Christ and the Virgin, one gate open and one hallway and also above the head of the Virgin in the
closed.67 It may be suggested that by including the closed alcove.
door and relating the hallway in the fresco to Carafa's Other objects in the alcove allude generally to the Virgin
actual burial chamber, Filippino not only alludes to the and probably to the Cardinal's hope for salvation. Two
iconography of the Annunciation, but also to the role of ceramic jars stand on the shelf (Fig. 12). The narrow-
the Virgin as Mediatrix. The allusion to Carafa's receipt of mouthed one with handles contains two sprigs that still
Divine Grace is repeated further in details of both hallway show evidence of leaves; this may be an olive branch like
and alcove. that in the burial chamber vault. The second container
The furnishings of the alcove behind the Virgin suggestholds a leafless twig and is an albarello with traces of two
her human activities and needs (Fig. 12). Critical opiniongeometric designs that may at one time have indicated
has often judged such humble objects, typical in late quat-Carafa's arms. Traditionally, the albarello stored phar-
trocento Annunciations, as examples of Italian artists' in-maceutical products, perfumes and spices, although it
terest in Netherlandish "still-life."68 Ingvar Bergstr6m has might hold nard and various medical herbs which Saint
shown, however, the degree to which Christian symbolismAntoninus associated with the Virgin and her humility.71
was intended in many Florentine paintings,69 and this In this instance the albarello and its leafless twig probably
surely was Filippino's intention here. imply the container's other function, a storage jar for
The books in the alcove refer to the Virgin's interest inmedicines for the ill and spices for embalming.72 The dry
sacred study, although their number goes well beyond hertwig juxtaposed to the healthy leafed one and the closed
normal reading of Isaiah. Indeed the symbolism of the book juxtaposed to the open one provide suggestive
open book throughout the Chapel decorations alters the evidence that these images are to be understood as sym-
usual interpretation of such volumes. The book served bols of death and resurrection.73 Although artists have
Carafa, a patron of printing and a book collector, as a per-sometimes referred to Christ's Passion in an
sonal impresa. For example, in the side-chamber vaultAnnunciation, which may have been intended h
Filippino combines an open book with a glass carafeFilippino's symbolism is so closely linked to Carafa
holding an olive branch, a symbol of purity and a play onmust also be seen in relation to him.
Carafa's name, in order to create a complex symbol Filippino's four large figures and their setting thus
meaningful to the Cardinal (Fig. 13). The open book also enact the double theme of the Annunciation and reinforce

64 Antoninus Iv.22.xII. 70 Aquinas I. 24. 1.

65 Frederick Hartt, Gino Corti, and Clarence Kennedy, The Chapel of71the
Antoninus iv. 15. 8. III (A-B 962).
Cardinal of Portugal, 1434-1459, Philadelphia, 1964, 11ff. 72 See Bergstr6m (as in note 69), 5f, who says that these jars also carried
66 Matthew 7:13-14. theriaca, which was a remedy for diseases and an herb that had allegorical
meaning for the Church.
67 "Et iste est primus articulus fidei de mediatore nato de Vergine. Et talis
fides (viva tamen) incarnati de Vergine proprie nos importat in caelum. 73 For the symbolism of the dry and the green tree, see Gerhart B. Ladner,
Unde in figuram in templo erant duo ostia, quae simul claudebantur [et] "Vegetation Symbolism and the Concept of Renaissance," in De Artibus
aperiebantur; [et] istae duae portae in templo Ecclesiae sunt Christus [et] Opuscula XL, Essays in Honor of Erwin Panofsky, ed. Millard Meiss, 2
B. Maria." Iv.20.xII (B-C, 1062). vols., New York, 1961, I, 303-322, esp. 316.
68 For example, see Geza de Francovich, "Sebastiano Mainardi," 74 For example, the grape-vine behind the Virgin in Lorenzo Monaco's
Cronache d'arte, iv, 1927, 169-93, 256-70, esp. 173. For Italian apprecia- Bartolini Annunciation carries this meaning. See Berenson, I, 463. The
tion of such objects in Northern painting, see Bartolomeo Fazio, De curtain may also have significance. It appears in Annunciations to il-
pictoribus, "Iohannes Gallicus," for a description of Jan van Eyck's Saint lustrate the biblical description of the Virgin's withdrawal after the An-
Jerome in His Study then in Naples, in Michael Baxandall, Giotto and the nunciation for meditation or to hide the Annunciation from the eyes of
Orators. Humanist Observers of Painting in Italy and the Discovery of the Devil. See Jean Fourn&e, "Architectures symboliques dans le theme
Pictorial Composition 1350-1450, Oxford, 1971, 165. For the arrival of iconographique de I'annonciation," Synthronon. Bibliotheque des
the Portinari Altarpiece in Florence, see B. Hatfield Strens, "L'arrivo del cahiers archeologiques, II, 1968, 225-235 and A. Grabar, "Une Fresque
trittico Portinari a Firenze," Commentari, N. S., xIx, 1968, 315-19. Visigothique et l'iconographie du silence," Cahiers archeologiques, I,
1945, 124-28.
69 Ingvar Bergstr6m, "Medicina, Fons et Scrinimum: A Study in Van
Eyckean Symbolism and Its Influence in Italian Art," Konsthistorisk
Tidskrift, xxvI, 1957, 1-20.

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74 THE ART BULLETIN MARCH 1981 VOLUME LXIII NUMBER 1

this two-part m
traditional separa
hallway associated
and its correlative
simulated burial ch
and ceramic jars i
1;4)1
for salvation.
A full examination of Filippino's Annunciation should
Mi..

include its elaborate marble frame and stucco acroterion

:~4r
:?IP E~i.:hr ~~
which appear to transform the fresco into a framed panel
painting set before an open landscape containing the
Apostles and the Assumption of the Virgin. It is likely that
12 Detail of Fig. 1 (photo: G.F.N.) the marble frame is Filippino's own design,75 but an
analysis of the documentary evidence and of the frame's
style and relationship to the painted architecture sur-
rounding the Chapel's other frescoes would take us far
beyond the issues of this discussion.76 The frame does
I \~ ??
i. : relate to themes in the Annunciation, however, by the bas-
?, I -II%~YII~~StP ,I ~ ,?I?

:?i relief images that refer to both Carafa and the Passion of
'? re~ r

--? 'L ?- ?i

- I Christ. The marble pilasters and frieze contain motifs of a

Janus head, balance, and the book which are Carafa's
iii imprese,77 while the dolphin, burial shroud, bucraneum,
crown of thorns, heads of wheat, cornucopia, and cross
are pagan and Christian symbols of death and resurrec-
tion. The stucco acroterion's bearded profile heads
vaguely reflect Carafa's Janus head motif, and the basket
of fruit with shafts of wheat and the burning candelabra
r

.?
as lux perpetua78 once again recall Christ's sacrifice and
the hope of salvation.

75 In his letter to Strozzi, Filippino mentions a marble ornament for the

13 Detail of Fig. 10 (photo: G.F.N.)
altar which costs 250 gold florins for workmanship alone: "Fassi ora un
ornamento per I'altare di marmo, che solo il maisterio monta f:ni 250
d'oro in oro larghi: dipoi s'ara nornare, e chosi vole tutto." Scharf, Doc.
xi. "Ornamento" seems to refer to the altar frame, although Filippino
may have been trying to pressure Filippo Strozzi to pay him more than
~r?l!? ~?
only 300 florins for his entire chapel decorations at S. Maria Novella. See
Eve Borsook, "Documents for Filippo Strozzi's Chapel in Santa Maria
...,

Novella and Other Related Papers," Burlington Magazine, cxII, 1970,

737-45 and 800-04, esp. 738-41. Creighton Gilbert has noted that
I ~I RUjk~j:IY ~i~ ~1L~
authorship of frames was often by artists other than the master in charge
ai~ r. i- ?t ;e of the painting. For example, Filippino was not responsible for the frame
~r? of the Otto di Pratica Altarpiece, only the Madonna and Saints; the
r:;Z~?~r'?

Ti,~if .~r
frame for the Vision of Saint Bernard was commissioned before Filippino
!?
i'
'~'' S~J
,lriyr -~c .*ij?
was selected to paint the composition. See C. Gilbert, "Peintres et
'" ~c3a!
i.? ~':??? C~ ;d
r
menuisiers au d6but de la Renaissance en Italie," Revue de l'art, xxxviI,
......?~ .is~i~:,l
ril =:~a~
~~. ~~5; ~? i?
~v~i?..??. .I?.i~?.i?.~ .ra: ;::~: ~C~i 1977, 9-28, esp. 19. Although these factors combined with the reserved
?'?
:..?\.'5=
, 1~4?'?5?~ ?~' .s=
1.Z3' ??:-. '':*
c ~I
~-- Ll ??:?
t;~:?t? .??'~II. ;~' r. ~ r-, ^~ :: style of the marble frame seem to point away from Filippino's
''~''' ~~illL~~ r, ?r
.,?m;r r?.
c--. i
?- .;,j
S ='; I,
;' ~ B ;:*~t-
;s
..
r?.f=:~J?r r i?
authorship, I believe there can be no doubt that the acroterion was en-
tirely his invention.
;li:s?

76 Further discussion of this material will be published elsewhere.

?1 _ It
-r
77 The balance indicates the standera branch of the Carafa family. The
I?
~'' ' Cardinal seems to have added his own personalized motif with the weight
'i_~.;~taRI~~ Irss~ g I
made of a Janus head.
14 Marble floor, Carafa
78 The lux perpetua represents Chapel (phot
the sign of the eternal presence of God to
Christians and is used in the Introitus for the Mass of the Dead. Funerary
decorations often incorporate the motif in some way. See "Licht" in the
Lexikon fiur Theologie und Kirche, ed. J. H6fer and K. Rahner, 14 vols.,
Freiburg, 1957-1968, vI, 1022-27, and H. Leclercq, "Lumiere,"
Dictionnaire d'archbologie chritienne et de liturgie, 15 vols., Paris, 1913-
1953, Ix, No. 2, 2698-2702.

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 Filippino's Carafa Chapel Annunciation reaffirms the
full theological meaning of the theme with a doctrinal
completeness one might have expected from a painting
commissioned for the Dominican Priory of the Minerva
from its powerful Cardinal Protector. At the same time,
the position of Carafa's portrait and the numerous
references to his hope for Divine Grace give the altarpiece
an unexpectedly personal message which exemplifies the
attitude of a sagacious Church-humanist patron living in
Rome at the turn of the century.
University of Wisconsin, Madison
Madison, WI 53706
"In the Hearth of the Virginal Womb": The Iconography of the Holocaust
in Late Medieval Art
Carra Ferguson O'Meara
And the priest shall offer it all and burn it all upon the altar for a
holocaust, and most sweet savour to the Lord (Leviticus 1: 13)
Behind the head of the Virgin in Robert Campin's
Madonna and Child Before a Fire-Screen (Fig. 1), two
columns of a fireplace are barely visible in the dark
shadows of the background.' This fireplace provides a
framework for a carefully aligned composition within this
painting: the firescreen in the center of the hearth is
placed so that it suggests a halo for the Virgin and the
darkness of the hearth accentuates the tongue of fire
emerging from behind the firescreen directly above the
Virgin's head. The strict alignment of this tongue of fire
1 For this painting, also called the Salting Madonna, and its attribution to
Robert Campin, see esp. Davies, 253, and figs. 14 and 15; Frinta, 39ff.;
Panofsky, I, 163ff., also 39-45, and fig. 9.
According to Davies, 253, the original panel of this painting was cut at
the top and right side and thereafter replaced, and the right fifth of the
panel is a modern fabrication. Therefore, though the Eucharistic chalice
might be especially relevant to the argument to be developed in this arti-
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Bibliography
Saint Antoninus, Summa Sacrae Theologiae, 4 parts, Venice, Leonard
Wild and Rinaldo da Nimega, 1480 (repr. 1959, Graz).
Aquinas, Saint Thomas, Summa Theologica, trans. Fathers of the
English Dominican Province, New York, 1947.
Berenson, Bernard, Italian Pictures of the Renaissance, 3 vols., 4th ed.,
London, 1957-1968.
Bertelli, Carlo, "Appunti sugli affreschi nella Cappella Carafa alla
Minerva," Archivum Fratrum Praedicatorum, xxxv, 1965, 116-130.
Marchini, G., Filippo Lippi, Milan, 1975.
Pope-Hennessy, John, Fra Angelico, London, 1952.
Scharf, Alfred, Filippino Lippi, Vienna, 1935.
with the firescreen and the Virgin's head, all bracketed
within the frame of the fireplace, suggests that it was
meant to underscore an association of meaning between
these figures and objects.
The fireplace is a prominent object in several paintings
associated with Campin. Besides the London Madonna,
the Merode Altarpiece contains a fireplace (Fig. 11). In the
Madonna at the Fireplace in The Hermitage, the unusual
position of the Child has not been explained with
reference to the fireplace in this scene, and in the
problematic Werl Altarpiece (Fig. 8) Saint Barbara reads
before a fireplace. Although fireplaces appear elsewhere in
Netherlandish painting, their most explicitly symbolic use
cle, I will not dwell upon it as it is part of the reconstruction. For an in-
dication of the details of the missing original, see Joseph Destree,
"Altered in the Nineteenth Century? A Problem at the National Gallery,
London," Connoisseur, 1926, 209f. For the most recent reconsideration
of the Campin - Master of Flemalle - Master of Merode controversy,
see Campbell, 634-646.