Frescoes in the Peruzzi Chapel (c. 1315)
by GIOTTO

The construction of the Peruzzi Chapel, the second chapel of the right-hand transept, was made possible by the influential banker, Donato di Arnoldo Peruzzi, who left additional money for this memorial chapel in his will in 1299. It was probably his grandson Giovanni di Rinieri Peruzzi who donated the murals honouring John the Evangelist and John the Baptist, which were the first works created by Giotto in Santa Croce.

The juxtaposition of the two John cycles is unusual, and researchers believe it contains a mixture of religious and secular iconography: John the Evangelist was the donor's name-saint; John the Baptist was patron saint both of the city of Florence and of St. Francis, to whom Santa Croce is dedicated. In his family's memorial chapel the banker Peruzzi, therefore, has realized a program which connects his own memory and that of his family with the religious background of the Franciscans and the fate of the city, in which the Peruzzis were one of the most influential families.

The ruinous state of the murals in the Peruzzi Chapel has several causes. They were, unusually, executed entirely in secco technique, and they were damaged early on, and more than once, by flooding from the Arno. Moreover, they were whitewashed during the second half of the eighteenth century, were very freely restored in 1841, and underwent a radical removal of overpainting in 1958-61. All of this ruined, almost beyond recognition, the surface of the paint, as well as the modeling, contours, and infill drawing of the figures in the surviving sections.

Suggested listening (streaming mp3, 3 minutes):
Guillauame Dufay: Ut queant laxis, hymn for the feast of St John the Baptist

Preview Picture Data File Info Comment
Scenes from the Life of St John the Baptist (north wall)
c. 1315
Fresco
Peruzzi Chapel, Santa Croce, Florence

901*1400
True Color
215 Kb



Scenes from the Life of St John the Baptist (north wall)
c. 1315
Fresco
Peruzzi Chapel, Santa Croce, Florence

1007*1300
True Color
248 Kb



Scenes from the Life of St John the Baptist: 1. Annunciation to Zacharias
c. 1315
Fresco, 280 x 450 cm
Peruzzi Chapel, Santa Croce, Florence

1033*730
True Color
168 Kb



Scenes from the Life of St John the Baptist: 1. Annunciation to Zacharias (detail)
c. 1315
Fresco
Peruzzi Chapel, Santa Croce, Florence

600*1097
True Color
141 Kb



Scenes from the Life of St John the Baptist: 2. Birth and Naming of the Baptist
c. 1315
Fresco, 280 x 450 cm
Peruzzi Chapel, Santa Croce, Florence

1114*700
True Color
185 Kb



Scenes from the Life of St John the Baptist: Naming of the Baptist
c. 1315
Fresco
Peruzzi Chapel, Santa Croce, Florence

1000*1206
True Color
190 Kb



Scenes from the Life of St John the Baptist: 3. Feast of Herod
c. 1315
Fresco, 280 x 450 cm
Peruzzi Chapel, Santa Croce, Florence

1089*700
True Color
182 Kb



Scenes from the Life of St John the Baptist: 3. Feast of Herod (detail)
c. 1315
Fresco
Peruzzi Chapel, Santa Croce, Florence

1000*1293
True Color
176 Kb



Scenes from the Life of St John the Baptist: 3. Feast of Herod (detail)
c. 1315
Fresco
Peruzzi Chapel, Santa Croce, Florence

600*1030
True Color
173 Kb



Scenes from the Life of St John the Baptist: 3. Feast of Herod (detail)
c. 1315
Fresco
Peruzzi Chapel, Santa Croce, Florence

1291*1000
True Color
211 Kb



Scenes from the Life of St John the Evangelist (south wall)
c. 1315
Fresco
Peruzzi Chapel, Santa Croce, Florence

900*1412
True Color
216 Kb



Scenes from the Life of St John the Evangelist (south wall)
c. 1315
Fresco
Peruzzi Chapel, Santa Croce, Florence

1000*1238
True Color
191 Kb



Scenes from the Life of St John the Evangelist: 1. St John on Patmos
c. 1315
Fresco, 280 x 450 cm
Peruzzi Chapel, Santa Croce, Florence

1151*700
True Color
185 Kb



Scenes from the Life of St John the Evangelist: 1. St John on Patmos (detail)
c. 1315
Fresco, width of detail 89 cm
Peruzzi Chapel, Santa Croce, Florence

668*820
True Color
135 Kb



Scenes from the Life of St John the Evangelist: 2. Raising of Drusiana
c. 1315
Fresco, 280 x 450 cm
Peruzzi Chapel, Santa Croce, Florence

1182*730
True Color
182 Kb



Scenes from the Life of St John the Evangelist: 2. Raising of Drusiana (detail)
c. 1315
Fresco
Peruzzi Chapel, Santa Croce, Florence

1000*1343
True Color
179 Kb



Scenes from the Life of St John the Evangelist: 2. Raising of Drusiana (detail)
c. 1315
Fresco
Peruzzi Chapel, Santa Croce, Florence

880*594
True Color
160 Kb



Scenes from the Life of St John the Evangelist: 2. Raising of Drusiana (detail)
c. 1315
Fresco, width of detail 39 cm
Peruzzi Chapel, Santa Croce, Florence

655*804
True Color
113 Kb



Scenes from the Life of St John the Evangelist: 2. Raising of Drusiana (detail)
c. 1315
Fresco
Peruzzi Chapel, Santa Croce, Florence

1077*370
True Color
92 Kb



Scenes from the Life of St John the Evangelist: 2. Raising of Drusiana (detail)
c. 1315
Fresco
Peruzzi Chapel, Santa Croce, Florence

1000*1337
True Color
198 Kb



Scenes from the Life of St John the Evangelist: 3. Ascension of the Evangelist
c. 1315
Fresco, 280 x 450 cm
Peruzzi Chapel, Santa Croce, Florence

1062*690
True Color
186 Kb



Scenes from the Life of St John the Evangelist: 3. Ascension of the Evangelist (detail)
c. 1315
Fresco
Peruzzi Chapel, Santa Croce, Florence

1010*1000
True Color
166 Kb



Scenes from the Life of St John the Evangelist: 3. Ascension of the Evangelist (detail)
c. 1315
Fresco
Peruzzi Chapel, Santa Croce, Florence

852*1001
True Color
190 Kb



View of the vault
1320
Fresco
Peruzzi Chapel, Santa Croce, Florence

925*1350
True Color
235 Kb




Summary of paintings by Giotto
Frescoes in San Francesco, Assisi
Upper Church: Legend of St Francis | New Testament scenes | Lower Church
Frescoes in Arena Chapel, Padua
Life of Joachim | Life of Virgin | Life of Christ | Angels | Heads
Last Judgment | Heads
Vault frescoes | Virtues and Vices | Decorative elements
Frescoes in Santa Croce, Florence
Frescoes in Peruzzi Chapel | Frescoes in Bardi Chapel
Panel paintings
Crucifix | Maestŕ and others | Polyptych panels | Stefaneschi Altarpiece | Baroncelli Polyptych
Miscellaneous works
Navicella mosaic | Campanile of the Florence Cathedral