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The central monument of Antonio Rossellino's career is the funerary chapel of the Cardinal of Portugal in S Miniato al Monte, Florence. Cardinal James (Jaime) of Portugal, who died in Florence in 1459 aged 25, had requested to be buried in the Florentine church and. Two contracts are known: the first of December 1461 is with Antonio alone; the second, made three weeks later, includes his brother Bernardo. It appears, however, that Antonio was chiefly responsible for the sculpture, most of which is his own work, although workshop participation can be assumed.
The chapel opens from the north aisle of the church, through a triumphal arch entrance, a motif repeated in the interior. To the right of the altar is the marble tomb, and opposite this is a marble episcopal throne below a frescoed Annunciation by Alesso Baldovinetti. The altarpiece was painted by Antonio and Piero Pollaiuolo in 1466, and the domed vault is decorated with terracotta reliefs by Luca della Robbia. The original architect, Antonio Manetti died in 1460 and was succeeded by Giovanni Rossellino; Antonio was probably responsible for the overall design of the decoration of the chapel, for which, in accordance with his original contracts, a model was submitted. The combination of a variety of media was unprecedented at that date and an important innovation.
The tomb fills the right-hand niche of the chapel, and feigned marble curtains are drawn back to reveal the sarcophagus and effigy, which lies on a bier, the head supported on a pillow from which hang swinging tassels. The bier is supported by two weeping putti, precariously perched on a tomb inspired by an antique prototype. A pair of angels, who seem to have just alighted on the cornice above, lead the eye to a roundel with the Virgin and Child, supported by flying angels. The Virgin, with light, fluttering drapery on her right shoulder, leans forward and gazes tenderly at the effigy. The angels and the Virgin and Child are sharply carved, animated figures, while the base of the tomb reveals Antonio's control of soft, delicate relief-carving.
The use of Classical motifs, the concern for an idealized, but still recognizable naturalism and a surface finish that produces an effect of almost gem-like brilliance reveal Antonio's mastery of the dominant trends in mid-15th-century Florentine sculpture. To these he added a new interest in the depiction of movement, most obviously in the angels that surround the tondo of the Virgin and Child, but also in the swinging tassels that hang from the pillow beneath the Cardinal's head, the fluttering drapery on the Virgin's right shoulder and the seated putti, precariously perched on the sarcophagus.
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