The book De bestiis et aliis rebus, in particular the first two volumes of the four, are perhaps attributable to Hugo di Folieto, an Augustinian author of the twelfth century. In this book we talk about various birds, in particular the goshawk which is confused with the falcon which means, when hunting flying game, the spiritual father who induces lay people towards the mortification of their flesh. Such falcons that hunt their prey are very frequent on the frescoes in Florence and in the Sistine Chapel. Starting with Gentile da Fabriano and Benozzo Gozzoli, Domenico Ghirlandaio should be mentioned, who added these particular scenes to his two "Last Suppers" in the refectory of the church of Ognissanti and San Marco in Florence. The influence of the medieval work can also be seen on all the frescoes in the Sistine Chapel, in particular the description of the dove as a church bride according to Psalm 67 of the Vulgate and according to its colors in nature. Every color, even that of the eyes, has its spiritual meaning. Thus the work of the theologian, that is, his first book, helps the scholar to give a precise interpretation of the paintings of the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries in Florence and Rome. - [Abstract]

Language: Italian

DOI: 10.1484/J.IKON.3.49