who painted the ceiling of the florence cathedral
Giorgio Vasari Federico Zuccari Giorgio Vasari and Federico Zuccari
title: Florence Cathedral text: the drum and through the lantern. Brunelleschi had proposed the vault to glimmer with resplendent gold, but his death in 1446 put an end to this project, and the walls of the dome were whitewashed. Grand Duke Cosimo I de' Medici decided to have the dome painted with a representation of "The Last Judgment". This enormous work, 3,600 metres² (38 750 ft²) of painted surface, was started in 1568 by Giorgio Vasari and Federico Zuccari and would last till 1579. The upper portion, near the lantern, representing "The 24 Elders of Apoc. 4" was finished by Vasari before his death title: Florence Cathedral text: it is now on display in the Museum Opera del Duomo. Many decorations date from the 16th-century patronage of the Grand Dukes, such as the pavement in colored marble, attributed to Baccio d'Agnolo and Francesco da Sangallo (1520–26). Some pieces of marble from the façade were used, topside down, in the flooring (as was shown by the restoration of the floor after the 1966 flooding). It was suggested that the interior of the 45 metre (147 ft) wide dome should be covered with a mosaic decoration to make the most of the available light coming through the circular windows of title: Florence Cathedral text: in 1574. Federico Zuccari and a number of collaborators, such as Domenico Cresti, finished the other portions: (from top to bottom) "Choirs of Angels"; "Christ, Mary and Saints"; "Virtues, Gifts of the Holy Spirit and Beatitudes"; and at the bottom of the cupola: "Capital Sins and Hell". These frescoes are considered Zuccari's greatest work. But the quality of the work is uneven because of the input of different artists and the different techniques. Vasari had used "true fresco", while Zuccari had painted "in secco". During the restoration work, which ended in 1995, the entire pictorial cycle of "The Last Judgment" title: Florence Cathedral text: church is particularly notable for its 44 stained glass windows, the largest undertaking of this kind in Italy in the 14th and 15th century. The windows in the aisles and in the transept depict saints from the Old and the New Testament, while the circular windows in the drum of the dome or above the entrance depict Christ and Mary. They are the work of the greatest Florentine artists of their times, such as Donatello, Lorenzo Ghiberti, Paolo Uccello and Andrea del Castagno. "Christ crowning Mary as Queen", the stained-glass circular window above the clock, with a rich range of title: Florence Cathedral text: Florence Cathedral Florence Cathedral, formally the (; in English "Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Flower"), is the cathedral of Florence, Italy (). It was begun in 1296 in the Gothic style to a design of Arnolfo di Cambio and was structurally completed by 1436, with the dome designed by Filippo Brunelleschi. The exterior of the basilica is faced with polychrome marble panels in various shades of green and pink, bordered by white, and has an elaborate 19th-century Gothic Revival façade by Emilio De Fabris. The cathedral complex, in Piazza del Duomo, includes the Baptistery and Giotto's Campanile. These three