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The Rucellai and the Medici

For the merchant Giovanni Rucellai, Alberti designed the family Palace in Via della Vigna, the prototype of the elegant Renaissance mansion, followed by the facade of the church of Santa Maria Novella and the private chapel in the church of San Pancrazio. This chapel, inspired by the famous sanctuary of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, reveals the exquisite harmony of the principles of proportion on which it was constructed. Having taken over from Brunelleschi as the pivotal artist in the Medici circle, Alberti replaced the rigour of the whites and greys of the architecture of his predecessor with a special attention to the enhancement of the ornaments.