GOZZOLI, Benozzo
(b. ca. 1420, Firenze, d. 1497, Pistoia)

Procession of the Middle King (detail)

1459-60
Fresco
Chapel, Palazzo Medici Riccardi, Florence

The middle king is represented with the features of Emperor John VII Paleologus. For this representation Benozzo based his work on a medallion designed by Pisanello in 1438. However, he made the face younger and replace the traditional and unwieldy Byzantine tiara with a crown resting on a peacock-plumed velvet cap.