Christa Gardner von Teuffel will investigate Brunelleschi’s revolutionary project for chapels with rectangular altarpieces at San Lorenzo. Rather than being a later modification, the new chapels with tavole quadrate decreed in 1434 were integral to Brunelleschi’s original concept. However he never, as architect, possessed absolute authority over the design, and was ultimately unable to realize his goal.
Christa Gardner von Teuffel studied at the Universities of Freiburg, Munich and Berlin ; she has been a fellow at the Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florence and Villa I Tatti, and a visiting professor at Harvard University. She has published widely on Masaccio and the art of the Italian High Renaissance.
Organised by Dr Scott Nethersole (The Courtauld)