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

Disembarkation at Ostia (scene 5, east wall)

1464-65
Fresco, 220 x 230 cm
Apsidal chapel, Sant'Agostino, San Gimignano

St Augustine made his journey to Rome in 383. The following frescoes (scenes 4 and 5) show both this scene and his Disembarkation at Ostia. Augustine left his native country as he was disappointed by the fantastical mythology of the Manichaeists and finally abandoned this philosophy.

In this picture it is particularly clear how Benozzo, in contrast to his earlier fresco cycles, chose a close-up composition for his frescoes, particularly in the lower register. This makes it possible for the figures in the foreground to appear as if on a stage. In contrast to the real events, though, Benozzo moved to scene to a typically Tuscan hilly landscape.




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