Orsanmichele is a church in the Italian city of Florence. The building was constructed on the site of the kitchen garden of the monastery of San Michele which no longer exists.
In architecture, a niche is a recess, a cavity in a wall, typically holding a decorative element: a statue, a vase, etc. In Classical architecture examples are an exedra or an apse that has been reduced in size, retaining the half-dome heading usual for an apse.
The Basilica di Santa Croce is a minor basilica and the principal Franciscan church of Florence, Italy. It is situated on the Piazza di Santa Croce, about 800 metres southeast of the Duomo, on what was once marshland beyond the city walls. Being the burial place of some of the most illustrious Italians, such as Michelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli, the poet Foscolo, the philosopher Gentile and the composer Rossini, it is also known as the Temple of the Italian Glories.
Baccio da Montelupo, born Bartolomeo di Giovanni d'Astore dei Sinibaldi, was a sculptor of the Italian Renaissance. He is the father of another Italian sculptor, Raffaello da Montelupo. Both father and son are profiled in Vasari's Le Vite delle più eccellenti pittori, scultori, ed architettori.
Lorenzo di Bicci was an Italian painter of the Florentine School considered to be one of the most important painters in Florence during the second half of the 14th century. He is believed to have learned his trade from his father, about whom little is known. Lorenzo’s style, as well as that of his contemporaries Jacopo di Cione and Niccolò di Pietro Gerini, was influenced by the artist Andrea di Cione. Lorenzo's paintings made use of bright colors and his compositions avoided complexity. The figures he painted tended to have round faces and were often expressionless. Another one of Lorenzo's distinctive characteristics was his precision of execution. He was known for exceptional talent in drawing, an ability that he put to use at the initial stages of his painting. Unlike many celebrated Florentine artists of this period, Lorenzo mostly received commissions from the country clergy and from the lower-middle-class Florentine guilds. His successors, Bicci di Lorenzo and Neri di Bicci, continued to serve these groups.
The Tabernacle of the Linaioli is a marble aedicula designed by Lorenzo Ghiberti, with paintings by Fra Angelico, dating to 1432–1433. It is housed in the National Museum of San Marco, Florence, central Italy.
Mariotto di Nardo di Cione was a Florentine painter in the Florentine Gothic style. He worked at the Duomo of Florence, the church of Santa Maria Maggiore, and the Orsanmichele. He created both frescoes and panel paintings, and was also active as a manuscript illuminator.
Saint George Freeing the Princess is a marble stiacciato bas-relief sculpture by Donatello, sculpted around 1416 or 1417. It was originally situated under the same artist's Saint George on an external niche of the church of Orsanmichele in Florence; both works are now in the Bargello Museum, with replicas replacing them in their original positions.
Saint George is a marble sculpture by Donatello. It is one of fourteen sculptures commissioned by the guilds of Florence to decorate the external niches of the Orsanmichele church. St. George was commissioned by the guild of the armorers and sword makers, the Arte dei Corazzai e Spadai.
Piero di Giovanni Tedesco was a German or Flemish sculptor active in Italy. He was born before 1386.
Four Crowned Martyrs is a sculptural group by Nanni di Banco. It forms part of a cycle of fourteen sculptures commissioned by the guilds of Florence for external niches of Orsanmichele, each sculpture showing that guild's patron saint. This sculpture was commissioned by the Arte dei Maestri di Pietra e Legname and completed around 1416-1417. It is in Apuan marble and is made of four figures of the Four Crowned Martyrs, the tallest of which is 2.03 m high. It is now indoors in the Museo di Orsanmichele, although a copy fills its original niche.
Saint Philip is an Apuan marble statue of Philip the Apostle by Nanni di Banco. It forms part of a cycle of fourteen sculptures commissioned for the external niches of Orsanmichele in Florence, each showing the patron saint of one of the city's guilds. It is 2.5 m high and was commissioned by the Arte dei Calzolai. Completed around 1410-1412, it is now in the Museo di Orsanmichele, although a replica fills its original niche.
Saint John the Evangelist is a 2.66 m high bronze statue of John the Evangelist by Baccio da Montelupo, completed in 1515. It was commissioned by the Arte della Seta as part of a cycle of fourteen sculptures for the external niches of Orsanmichele, each showing the patron saint of one of the guilds of Florence. It is now in the Museo di Orsanmichele, although a replica fills its original niche.
Saint Luke is a 2.73 m high bronze statue of Luke the Evangelist by Giambologna, commissioned by the Arte dei Giudici e Notai and completed in 1597–1602. One of a cycle of fourteen commissioned by the guilds of Florence for the external niches of Orsanmichele, it is now in the Museo di Orsanmichele, although a replica fills its original niche.
Saint Matthew is a 2.7-m high bronze statue of Saint Matthew by Lorenzo Ghiberti, completed in 1420 for the Arte del Cambio. One of a cycle of fourteen patron saints of the Florentine guilds commissioned for the external niches of Orsanmichele, it is now in the Museo di Orsanmichele.
Saint Stephen is a 2.6 m high bronze statue of saint Stephen by Lorenzo Ghiberti, completed for the Arte della Lana guild in 1427–28. It is now in the Museo di Orsanmichele, although a replica fills its original niche on the exterior of Orsanmichele, where it was one of a cycle of fourteen sculptures, each showing the patron saint of one of the guilds of Florence.
Saint Peter is a Apuan marble sculpture of Saint Peter of 2.43 m high. It is attributed to Filippo Brunelleschi and his style is influenced by Donatello. It forms part of a cycle of fourteen statues of the patron saints of the guilds of Florence for the external niches of Orsanmichele. The sculpture of St Peter was completed for the Arte dei Beccai (butchers) guild around 1412 and is now in the Museo di Orsanmichele, although a replica fills its original niche.
Saint Eligius is an Apuan marble statue of saint Eligius by Nanni di Banco, forming part of a cycle of fourteen patron saints of the Florentine guilds for the external niches of Orsanmichele. It was commissioned by the Arte dei Maniscalchi guild and completed around 1417–1421, although it took until around 1422 for it to be put up in its niche. That niche is now filled by a replica, with the original in the Museo di Orsanmichele.
Saint Louis of Toulouse is a 1423–1425 gilded bronze sculpture of Louis of Toulouse by Donatello, measuring 2.26 m high by 0.85 m wide. It is now in the refectory of the Museo di Santa Croce in Florence.
Madonna of the Apple is a c. 1400-1425 terracotta sculpture attributed to Donatello or Luca della Robbia, with Jacopo della Quercia also suggested in the past. It is now in the Museo Bardini, in Florence.
