Nuvole et Paradis merveilleux dans la scéno-technique florentine du XVe siècle

The paper analyzes a crucial episode in the history of Italian renaissance stagecraft: that of the Havens and ascensional apparatuses invented in XVth century Florence to represent the mysteries of the Annunciation, Ascension and Pentecost. In particular, it examines the Ascension Feast both because it is the oldest and best documented, and because it presents two different types of Haven, one shaped as a dome and the other flat and vertical with rotating concentric circles; and two different ascensional machineries, one in the shape of a cloud, the other with two live angels placed on wooden and iron pedestals and dragged into the air by ropes and pulleys. Compared to the previous historiography, this reconstruction of the machinery is original because it is based on a new and complete translation from Russian of the 1439 description, written by the Orthodox bishop Abraham of Suzdal: an exceptional document for the quality of information. The scenic apparatuses are attributed to the genius of the architect Filippo Brunelleschi who, with their novelty, was able to influence not only Renaissance painting but also the developments of baroque stagecraft.