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The Cappella di Eleonora ("Chapel of Eleonora") is located on the second floor of the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence. It was built by Giovanni Battista del Tasso for the private use of Duchess Eleonora di Toledo, wife of Cosimo I de' Medici. The chapel is richly decorated with frescoes and an altarpiece by Agnolo Bronzino, a Mannerist artist who served as the court painter for the Medici.

History
In 1540, Cosimo I de' Medici appointed Giovanni Battista del Tasso to direct the architectural remodeling of the Palazzo Vecchio to make the building a suitable residence for Cosimo and his new bride, Eleanora. In this role, Tasso oversaw the construction of Eleanora's small chapel. It was built on the east end of the existing Camera Verde and had a lower false ceiling which made the space roughly cubical (approximately four meters square by four meters high).

Bronzino began painting the chapel's frescoes in 1541 beginning with the vault and spandrels followed by the walls. The south wall was painted first and work proceeded in a clockwise fashion until the frescoes were probably completed in 1543. An altarpiece and two side panels portraying saints were intended to decorate the east wall and were executed between 1543 and 1545. Shortly after it was completed, the original altarpiece, The Deposition of Christ, was given to Nicolas Perrenot de Granvelle as a diplomatic gift and Cosimo requested Bronzino make a copy to replace it. The second version was completed in 1553. At some point in time during the intervening years after the first version was sent away and the replacement was completed, Eleonora relegated the original side panels of saints to storage and requested scenes of the Annunciation instead. Historians differ in their assessment of the completion dates of the Annunciation panels.

In 1582, long after Eleonora's death in 1562 and Bronzino's in 1572, the decoration of the chapel was further changed. A door was put into the center of the north wall to provide access to a terrace. Previously, there had only been a window in the wall. This significantly impacted the frescoes depicting two scenes from the Exodus: Moses Striking the Rock and Gathering of Manna. To cover the damage above the door frame, a scene of angels and elements of the Eucharist was painted presumably by Bronzino's pupil Alessandro Allori.

In the seventeenth century, the Medici court had completed their move to the Palazzo Pitti which had begun when Eleonora purchased it in 1549. The Palazzo Vecchio became an administrative building that was also used for festive occasions. In the eighteenth century, the altarpiece and the Annuciation side panels were transferred to the Uffizi. The chapel was severely neglected and suffered significant damage. Frescoes were abraided because the chapel was used as a storage room and a portion of the Crossing of the Red Sea and Moses Appointing Joshua on the south wall was destroyed by humidity. It was only in the late nineteenth century that restorations were undertaken. In 1909, the second floor underwent a comprehensive restoration, the altarpiece and side panels were returned from the Uffizi, and the chapel opened to the public for the first time in its history.

Vault and spandrels
The ceiling, of which remains a preparatory model in the Städelsches Kunstinstitut of Frankfurt, in pen and gray watercolor on blue paper, 34X26 cm., Was the first to be executed between 1540 and 1541. It is located in the center, a representation of the Trinity, the Vultus trifrons, which was painted on a Medici -Toledo coat of arms, partly re-decorated. The emblem on the other hand still appears on the paper model in Frankfurt. Around the center of the ceiling, are arranged, separated by festoons and putti, San Giovanni Evangelista penitent in Patmos, San Michele Arcangelo who wins the devil, St. Francis receiving the stigmata with Fra Leone and San Girolamo penitent. Worthy of note is the Michelangelo's San Michele, of which there is a preparatory drawing, at the Département des Arts grafiques of the Louvre[1], which semi-sat on the clouds, twists its beautiful body, hovering a sword on its head to kill Satan who is next to. The St. Jerome, with the lion beside, presents a magnificent study of the naked torso of the Father of the Church, a perfect imitation derived from the art of Michelangelo. Also the profile of the Evangelist, follows the statuary art of the great Buonarroti. The head of the San Giovanni has his own preparatory study preserved in the Gabinetto Disegni e Stampe of the Uffizi of Florence[2].

The plumes are decorated with the personifications of the Virtues of Temperance, Justice, Fortitude and Prudence.

Walls
The walls are frescoed with biblical episodes. In the front in the center is the Deposition of Christ (an autograph replica of a painting by the same author of 1545, which is now in the Museum of Besançon), while on the sides there are an announcing Angel and the Virgin announced. Above a David and the Sybil Eritrea.

The other walls are decorated with the Stories of Moses: Passage of the Red Sea, Fall of the manna and appearance of springs in the desert and the bronze Serpent.

East wall


Deposition of Christ (actually a Lamentation) Annunciation King David and the Erythraean Sibyl

West wall
Brazen serpent:

North wall
Gathering of manna: Moses striking the rock: (not )

Symbolism
This painting contains various allusions to the Medici's dynastic and political intentions. Moses can be equated to Cosimo I, who wants to lead his people to the promised land. The crossing of the Red Sea and the destruction of the Egyptian army alludes to the 1537 battle of Montemurlo where Cosimo I defeated the army trying to restore the Republic of Florence. The appointment of Joshua by Moses refers to the birth in 1541 of Francesco, the son of Cosimo I and Eleanor and heir to the ducal state. This last allusion is strengthened by the pregnant woman portrayed behind Moses in the right foreground.