. Francia's masterpiece; an essay on the beginnings of the Immaculate conception in art. 40. The Guinigi-Magrini werehis heirs. To them now belongs the Chapel and,as one might suppose, all that therein is.^ On the west^ wall of the Chapel is a modern-looking Altar called of the Conception, and mani-festly of the Conception, for above it, in an ovalframe, is a picture of the Immaculate Conceptionof the conventional type, which took birth in Spainin the seventeenth century. On the pedestal ofeither pillar are the Guinigi arms: gules, on across argent, twenty (sometimes sixteen, some-times eighte
. Francia's masterpiece; an essay on the beginnings of the Immaculate conception in art. 40. The Guinigi-Magrini werehis heirs. To them now belongs the Chapel and,as one might suppose, all that therein is.^ On the west^ wall of the Chapel is a modern-looking Altar called of the Conception, and mani-festly of the Conception, for above it, in an ovalframe, is a picture of the Immaculate Conceptionof the conventional type, which took birth in Spainin the seventeenth century. On the pedestal ofeither pillar are the Guinigi arms: gules, on across argent, twenty (sometimes sixteen, some-times eighteen) lance-heads azure. On the wallopposite the Altar, fixed in a stucco frame forshow, is a splendid carved wood coloured group ^ By both the ecclesiastical and the modern law the patronof a private chapel forming part of a public Church is nomin-ally owner of the contents, none of which, however, may heremove or alienate. ^ San Frediano is the only Church in Lucca that has itssanctuary to the west. How that came about is highly interest-ing, but is far too long a story to tell o d< 5< U-,O w <u-< w CHAPEL OF THE CONCEPTION ^^ of the Assumption by Masseo Civitali, a nephewof the great sculptor Matteo—obviously an altar-piece, but wanting its Altar.^ Another mystifica-tion, for odd indeed it seemed, nay unthinkable,that in a spacious Chapel of the Assumption thereshould be no Altar of the Assumption. But thisAltar, too, I was able to trace later on. My search in the Public Library and RecordOffice for evidence of a Chapel of the Conceptionwas speedily rewarded, thanks to the kindly aidof willing and intelligent helpers. Existing recordsof San Frediano are deplorably thin owing to agreat fire which occurred in the Monastery in 1596,carrying away every vestige of a title-deed. But acertain Canon, one Pietro Carelli, betook himselfto the Office of Notarial Archives, and there for amonth ^ industriously made a note of all the deedsrelating to the Church and Mona
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectmaryblessedvirginsai
