SIXTUS IV APPOINTING PLATINA AS PERFECT OF THE VATICAN LIBRARY BY MELOZZO

A great fresco by Melozzo da Forlì is in the section dedicated to the 1400s. It comes from the old Vatican Library and is titled Sixtus IV Appointing Platina as Prefect of the Vatican Library. The work is set in front of majestic Renaissance architecture with a blue and gold paneled ceiling. It depicts the ceremony in which Sixtus IV, in the presence of other figures of the papal court, entrusts the direction of the library of the Holy See to the humanist Bartolomeo Platina, who is kneeling in the middle. The architectural representation in the scene perfectly follows Leon Battista Alberti's lessons, who had theorized the laws on perspective, while the firm but serene composition probably reminds you of Piero della Francesca.