Benozzo Gozzoli, Choir of Angels (fresco, part 1, opt. 2)

Description

The angelic groups are distributed symmetrically on the two side walls of the scarsella, western and eastern. They play the role of intermediaries between the human and the divine, between the Magi and the shepherds represented in the main room and the Virgin Mary adoring the newborn Child, depicted in the altarpiece. On the ground, the angels leave a platform made of clouds and place their feet on the grass of the flowery meadow. They bear multicolored wings adorned with eyes like peacock feathers; they wear elegant tunics diversified in colors and combinations, with golden and gemmed borders. The standing angels, divided into two symmetrical groups (one on the left wall and the other on the right), arrange themselves in a row forming two wings of a choir and sing the hymn of Gloria; whose verses can be read inscribed in the golden halos and in some robes ("gloria, in excelsis deo et in terra", "adoramus te glorificamus te" "et in terr[a] pax").