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In Mantua, the Gonzaga family marked their rapid ascent to prominence by commissioning in the church of San Francesco a large funerary chapel. The church was largely destroyed during World War II but fortunately the Gonzaga chapel survived.
The Gonzaga chapel is the largest of the church's noble chapels, occupying the most prestigious location close to the apse. Here the bodies of princes and their consorts reposed in marble tombs - now largely removed - among brilliantly coloured frescoes that covered the chapel's vault and walls. Although only partially preserved, these paintings still give an idea of the extravagant visions of both patron and painter in realizing this commission. The artist, who illustrated scenes from the lives of Christ and St Louis of Toulouse, was the Modenese painter Serafino Serafini, a pupil of the more famous Tommaso da Modena.
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