Cosimo de' Medici chose Benozzo Gozzoli to decorate the chapel. The pictorial program of the chapel is also structured in two parts: the Procession of the Magi in the main room and the Adoration of the Child in the chancel with the Angels worshipping on the side walls. The ceiling is decorated by a diamond-pointed ring in a halo with a loop that bears the motto of Piero de' Medici, semper, and within it inside a glory the monogram of Christ, JHS, as used for St Bernardino of Siena.The Procession of the Magi extends across the east, south and west walls of the main room above the encircling benches. These three walls were painted in about 150 working days, and each represents one of the Three Kings. The east wall leads off with the youngest king, the story continues on the south wall with the middle king, and ends on the west wall with the oldest king. An unusual feature of this depiction is that the procession does not arrive at the manger. The double walls explain the good state of preservation of the frescoes, which were thus protected from damp. Originally it was relatively dark in the chapel, for the two small oculi only admitted a little light. In the torch and candlelight that illuminated the room, the shining gold and metal layers on the paintings must have had a powerful effect.
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