The Cathedral of Florence and the Dawn of the Renaissance

Christ and St. Stephen’s Church, 120 W. 69th St.

Dr. Giovanni Matteo Guidetti

In this slide lecture, Dr. Guidetti will discuss the three primary and best known architectural monuments of the religious center of Florence—the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore (known as the Duomo), the Baptistry and Giotto’s Bell Tower—as an introduction to the artistic language of the Renaissance. Through the work of Brunelleschi, Ghiberti, Nanni di Bianco, Donatello, Luca della Robbia and others, this lecture will explore how the innovations in architecture and sculpture preceded painting in ushering in the wholesale rebirth of figurative art in the 15^th century.

This lecture will serve as an introduction not only to Lucia Baldacci’s recital, Music for Brunelleschi’s Dome, which will immediately follow at 7pm, but will also offer a useful foundation for anyone planning to attend the groundbreaking exhibition Sculpture in the Age of Donatello Renaissance Masterpieces from Florence Cathedral at the Museum of Biblical Art.

To purchase tickets for the recital or for further information, please go to our website or call 1-888-718-4253. The lecture is free with the purchase of a concert ticket.

Dr. Guidetti, a graduate of the University of Florence, has written articles on the Renaissance and Baroque architecture, sculpture and painting of Florence for numerous publications, given talks on Renaissance Art History, and curated conferences throughout Europe. He has served as Scientific Director of the Museo di Arte Sacra di San Donnino a Campi Bisenzio, and teaches at the Suola di Arte Sacra in collaboration with the Fondazione Opera del Duomo di Firenze.

He regularly conducts private tours in virtually all the art museums of Florence, and has guided English-speaking visitors through the Donatello sculptures in their home museum countless times throughout the past decade.