In Mugello 2022 PDF

A MASTERPIECE OF THE RENAISSANCE
FROM FRANCE TO BOSCO AI FRATI:
THE TRIPTYCH BY NICOLAS FROMENT
TERRE DEGLI UFFIZI IN MUGELLO
Convento di San Bonaventura al Bosco ai Frati
1st JUNE – 6th NOVEMBER
Scarperia e San Piero, Firenze 2022
The altarpiece with stories from the life of Lazarus,
Martha and Mary is dated 1461 and is signed on
the doors by Nicolas Froment, a painter recorded in
northern France and Provence from 1461 to 1483.
The triptych, fitted with closing doors, was commissioned
by Bishop Francesco Coppini (Prato, 1402
— Rome, 1464) in the course of his diplomatic missions
to Flanders, northern France and England. The
patron, identified by his coat-of-arms, is shown in
prayer before the Virgin on the back of the doors.
In the centre of the triptych, we see Jesus raising Lazarus
and uttering the words: “Lazare veni foras”,
written in gold lettering. Lazarus, his body already
decomposing, rises from the tomb before the eyes
of his sisters Martha and Mary whose faces are bathed
in tears.The miracle is preceded by the scene in
which Martha goes to meet Jesus to inform him of
her brother’s death, illustrated on the left-hand door.
On the other door, Mary pays tribute to the Saviour
by anointing his feet with a fragrant balsam.
Infuenced by Flemish painting, Nicolas Froment
tends to characterise his figures’ features almost to
the point of caricature. His meticulous depiction of
costumes, objects and bizarre details such as the fly
on a table laid for a meal turn the religious scene
into a constant source of wonder. The landscapes in
the hackground conjure up the fairy-tale world of
northern European courts in the 15th century.
Francesco Coppini was recalled to Rome by the
Pope in the summer of 1461 and charged with political
misdemeanours and simony. Found guilty, he
was stripped of his titles and his assets were confiscated.
The triptych painted by Nicolas Froment
came into the ownership of the Medici family and
was subsequently donated to the Franciscan convent
of Bosco ai Frati, where it remained until the
convent was suppressed under Napoleon. It entered
the Uffizi in 1841.
30
The exhibition, promoted and organised by the
Unione Montana dei Comuni del Mugello, is
part of the Terre degli Uffizi project,
devised and produced by Le Gallerie degli Uffizi
and the Fondazione CR Firenze in the context of
their respective Uffizi Diffusi and Piccoli Grandi
Musei projects.
EXHIBITION INFO
Opening hours
Every day 9.30am-12.30am/ 3.30pm-6.30pm
Admission free of charge
uffizi.it/terre-degli-uffizi
CONTACT US
Convento di San Bonaventura
al Bosco ai Frati
T. 055 848111/348 6033328
Reservations for groups and guided tours
T. 348 6033328 - info@boscoaifrati.org
Ufficio Turismo – Unione Montana
dei Comuni del Mugello
T. 055 84527185-186
turismo@uc-mugello.fi.it