Chapel History
On his death in 1585 the French cardinal, Matthieu Cointrel (Contarelli in Italian), left an endowment and instructions for the decoration of the chapel, first one to the left of the apse, which he had purchased within San Luigi dei Francesi ("Saint Louis of the French"), the church of the French community in Rome. The cardinal was rich—he had already paid for part of the construction of the church facade and put a large sum towards the high altar—and he specified that his chapel be decorated with scenes from the life of his name-saint, Matthew the Evangelist.
Read more about this topic: Contarelli Chapel
Famous quotes containing the words chapel and/or history:
“I went to the Garden of Love,
And saw what I never had seen:
A Chapel was built in the midst,
Where I used to play on the green.
And the gates of this Chapel were shut,
And ‘Thou shalt not’ writ over the door;”
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“All objects, all phases of culture are alive. They have voices. They speak of their history and interrelatedness. And they are all talking at once!”
—Camille Paglia (b. 1947)