Adoration of the Magi (cell 39)

The friars cell 39 on the second floor of the San Marco convent was reserved for Cosimo de Medici who was a lay member of the order due to his patronage. The cell was also used by Pope Eugenius IV when he consecrated the church.The fresco on the wall, once thought to be the work of Fra Angelico, is the Adoration of the Magi by Benozzo Gozzoli.1

The Epiphany was a favorite theme of the Medici family,2 both Cosimo and Lorenzo were member of the confraternity of the Magi.3 The family sponsored the annual Florentine festival of the Magi, where they took part the pageants. A more elaborate painting on the theme by Benozzo Gozzoli was executed in the chapel of the Medici palace.4
 

• 1. Allie Terry-Fritsch Bowling Green State University https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1000&context=a...
• 2. Hibbert, C. Florence The Biography of a City. (Penguin Books 1994). p96.
• 3. Hibbert, C. The Rise and Fall of the House of Medici. (Allen Lane 1975). p111.
• 4. Hibbert, C. The Rise and Fall of the House of Medici. (Allen Lane 1975). p111.