the monk’s chapter house(meeting hall). Brunelleschi began to de-
sign the Pazzi Chapel around 1423, but work continued until the
1460s, long after his death. The exterior (FIG. 21-33) probably does
not reflect Brunelleschi’s original design. The loggia, admirable as it
is, seems to have been added as an afterthought, perhaps by the
sculptor-architect Giuliano da Maiano (1432–1490). Historians have
564 Chapter 21 ITALY,1400 TO 150021-34Filippo Brunelleschi, plan of the Pazzi Chapel, Santa Croce,
Florence, Italy, designed ca. 1423, begun 1442.
Although the Pazzi Chapel is rectangular, rather than square or round,
Brunelleschi created a central plan by placing all emphasis on the
dome-covered space at the heart of the building.
N
0 51510 feet
0 12345 metersDomeLoggiaLoggia21-35Filippo Brunelleschi, interior of the Pazzi Chapel (looking
northeast), Santa Croce, Florence, Italy, designed ca. 1423, begun 1442,
with glazed terracotta roundels by Luca della Robbia.
The interior trim of the Pazzi Chapel is gray pietra serena, which stands
out against the white stuccoed walls and crisply defines the modular
relationships of Brunelleschi’s plan and elevation.D
uring the 14th through 16th centuries in Italy, wealthy families
regularly endowed chapels in or adjacent to major churches.
These family chapels were usually on either side of the choir near the
altar at the church’s east end. Particularly wealthy families endowed
chapels in the form of separate buildings constructed adjacent to
churches. For example, the Medici Chapel (Old Sacristy) abuts San
Lorenzo in Florence. Powerful banking families, such as the Baron-
celli, Bardi, and Peruzzi, each sponsored chapels in the Florentine
church of Santa Croce. The Pazzi commissioned a chapel (FIGS. 21-33
to 21-35) adjacent to Santa Croce, and the Brancacci family spon-
sored the decorative program (FIGS. 21-18and 21-19) of their chapel
in Santa Maria del Carmine.
These families endowed chapels to ensure the well-being of the
souls of individual family members and ancestors. The chapels
served as burial sites and as spaces for liturgical celebrations and
commemorative services. Chapel owners sponsored Masses for the
dead, praying to the Virgin Mary and the saints for intercession on
behalf of their deceased loved ones. Changes in Christian doctrine
prompted these concerted efforts to improve donors’ chances for
eternal salvation. Until the 13th century, Christians believed that af-
ter death, souls went either to Heaven or to Hell. After that time, the
concept of Purgatory—a way station between Heaven and Hell
where souls could atone for sins before Judgment Day—increasingly
won favor. Pope Innocent III (1198–1216) recognized the existence
of such a place in 1215. Because Purgatory represented an opportu-
nity for the faithful to improve their chances of eventually gaining
admission to Heaven, they eagerly embraced this opportunity. When
they extended this idea to improving their chances while alive, char-
itable work, good deeds, and devotional practices proliferated. Fam-
ily chapels provided the space necessary for the performance of de-
votional rituals. Most chapels included altars as well as chalices,
vestments, candlesticks, and other objects used in the Mass. Most
patrons also commissioned decorations, such as painted altarpieces,
frescoes on the walls, and sculptural objects. The chapels were there-
fore expressions of piety and devotion but also opportunities for the
donors to burnish their images in the larger community.Renaissance Family Chapel Endowments
ART AND SOCIETY