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60-422: He was known to contemporaries as Fra Giovanni da Fiesole (Friar John of Fiesole ) and Fra Giovanni Angelico (Angelic Brother John). In modern Italian he is called Beato Angelico (Blessed Angelic One); the common English name Fra Angelico means the "Angelic friar". In 1982, Pope John Paul II beatified him in recognition of the holiness of his life, thereby making the title of "Blessed" official. Fiesole

120-605: A Madonna of the Pomegranate , at the Prado Museum . In 1436, Fra Angelico was one of a number of the friars from Fiesole who moved to the newly built convent or friary of San Marco in Florence. This propitious move, placing him at the heart of artistic life of the region, attracted the backing of Cosimo de' Medici . He was one of the wealthiest and most powerful members of the city's governing authority (or "Signoria"), and founder of

180-638: A century earlier with the works of Giotto and several of his contemporaries, notably Giusto de' Menabuoi . Both had created their major works in Padua , though Giotto had been trained in Florence by the great Gothic artist, Cimabue . He had painted a fresco cycle of St Francis in the Bardi Chapel in the Basilica di Santa Croce . Giotto had many enthusiastic followers, imitating his style in fresco . Some of them, notably

240-604: A child, he was probably known, as was the Italian fashion, as Guidolino ("Little Guido"). The earliest recorded document concerning Fra Angelico dates from 17 October 1417, when he joined a religious confraternity or guild at the Carmine Church, still under the name Guido di Pietro. This record indicates that he was already a painter, as is evident from two records of payment to Guido di Pietro in January and February 1418, for work done in

300-411: A cloth of honour made of gold and black embroidered brocade held by three angels, while two more angels are seated on the ground playing an organ and a lute. The monumental figures, the splendour of the clothes, the modulated light and the use of the blue colour place this panel in the purest fifteenth-century Italian style. The work has been identified as the one described by Giorgio Vasari in 1568 in

360-485: A contraction of frater (Latin for 'brother'), is a conventional title for a mendicant friar. According to Vasari, Fra Angelico's initial training was as an illuminator , possibly working with his older brother Benedetto , also a Dominican and an illuminator. The former Dominican convent of San Marco in Florence, now a state museum, holds several manuscripts thought to be entirely or partly by his hand. The painter Lorenzo Monaco may have contributed to his art training;

420-467: A fresco which matches in size and shape of the single round-headed window beside it. The frescoes are apparently for contemplative purposes. They have a pale, serene, unearthly beauty. Many of Fra Angelico's finest and most reproduced works are among them. There are, particularly in the inner row of cells, some of the less inspiring quality and of the more repetitive subject, perhaps completed by assistants. Many pictures include Dominican saints as witnesses of

480-546: A large Crucifixion scene with many saints for the Chapter House . As with the other frescoes, the wealthy patronage did not influence the Friar's artistic expression with displays of wealth. Masaccio ventured into perspective with his creation of a realistically painted niche at Santa Maria Novella . Subsequently, Fra Angelico demonstrated an understanding of linear perspective particularly in his Annunciation paintings set inside

540-506: A large altarpiece painted in 1439 for Fra Angelico's monastery at San Marco, which was later split up by Napoleon 's army. While the centre section is still at the monastery, the other six small panels are in German and US museums. These two panels were presumed lost forever. The Italian Government had hoped to purchase them but they were outbid at auction on 20 April 2007 by a private collector for £1.7M. Both panels are now restored and exhibited in

600-586: A religious conviction that, because his paintings were divinely inspired, they should retain their original form. He was wont to say that he who illustrates the acts of Christ should be with Christ. It is averred that he never handled a brush without fervent prayer and he wept when he painted a Crucifixion. The Last Judgment and the Annunciation were two of the subjects he most frequently treated. Pope John Paul II beatified Fra Angelico on 3 October 1982, and in 1984 declared him patron of Catholic artists. Angelico

660-682: Is conserved in the National Gallery, London ; a great example of Fra Angelico's genius. It shows Christ in Glory surrounded by more than 250 figures, including beatified Dominicans. This period saw the painting of some of his masterpieces, including a version of The Madonna of Humility . This is well preserved and the property of the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum , on loan to the MNAC of Barcelona. Also completed at this time were an Annunciation and

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720-515: Is dull green and the black and white of Dominican robes. There is nothing lavish, nothing to distract from the spiritual experiences of the humble people who are depicted within the frescoes. Each one has the effect of bringing an incident of the life of Christ into the presence of the viewer. They are like windows into a parallel world. These frescoes remain a powerful witness to the piety of the man who created them. Vasari relates that Cosimo de' Medici seeing these works, inspired Fra Angelico to create

780-469: Is impossible to bestow too much praise on this holy father, who was so humble and modest in all that he did and said and whose pictures were painted with such facility and piety." Fra Angelico was born Guido di Pietro in the hamlet of Rupecanina in the Tuscan area of Mugello near Fiesole , not far from Florence , towards the end of the 14th century. Nothing is known of his parents. He was baptised Guido. As

840-613: Is sometimes misinterpreted as being part of his formal name, but it was merely the town where he had taken his vows as a Dominican friar , and would have been used by contemporaries to distinguish him from others with the same forename, Giovanni. He is commemorated by the current Roman Martyrology on 18 February, the date of his death in 1455. There the Latin text reads Beatus Ioannes Faesulanus, cognomento Angelicus —"Blessed John of Fiesole, surnamed 'the Angelic'". Vasari wrote of Fra Angelico that "it

900-454: Is the solidity, three-dimensionality and naturalism of the figures and the realistic way in which their garments hang or drape around them. Even though it is clouds these figures stand upon, and not the earth, they do so with weight. The series of frescoes that Fra Angelico painted for the Dominican friars at San Marcos realise the advancements made by Masaccio and carry them further. Away from

960-588: The Coronation of the Virgin , painted for the Florentine church of Santa Maria Novella , are all the elements that a very expensive altarpiece of the 14th century was expected to provide; a precisely tooled gold ground , much azure, and much vermilion. The workmanship of the gilded haloes and gold-edged robes is exquisite and all very Gothic. What makes this a Renaissance painting, as against Gentile da Fabriano's masterpiece,

1020-532: The Etruscan Viesul , Viśl , Vipsul ) was probably founded sometime during the ninth century BC, as it was an important member of the Etruscan confederacy. The remains of its prehistoric walls and ancient structures have been preserved and an archaeological museum in the town presents artifacts from and information about these cultural periods. The earliest known recorded mention of the town dates to 283 BC, when

1080-611: The Journey of the Magi , painted in the Medici 's private chapel at their palazzo . Through Fra Angelico's pupil Benozzo Gozzoli's careful portraiture and technical expertise in the art of fresco we see a link to Domenico Ghirlandaio , who in turn painted extensive schemes for the wealthy patrons of Florence, and through Ghirlandaio to his pupil Michelangelo and the High Renaissance. Apart from

1140-498: The Lorenzetti , achieved great success. If not a monastic establishment, the patron was most usually, as part of a church's endowment, a family with wealth. To maximally advertise this (wealth) favoured subjects where religious devotion would be most focused, an altarpiece for instance. The wealthier the benefactor, the more the style would seem a throwback, compared with a freer and more nuanced style then in vogue. Underpinning this

1200-517: The Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid and is conserved on loan at the National Art Museum of Catalonia . The Virgin seated on a cushion placed directly on the ground with the child standing on her lap, holds a vase in her left hand which contains roses and a lily, symbols of motherhood and purity. The Child, who is also holding a lily, rests his forehead on his mother's cheek. They are set under

1260-520: The 1960s then bequeathed them to her when he died. Preston, an expert medievalist, recognised them as being high-quality Florentine renaissance, but did not realize that they were works by Fra Angelico until they were identified in 2005 by Michael Liversidge of Bristol University. There was almost no demand at all for medieval art during the 1960s and no dealers showed any interest, so Preston's father bought them almost as an afterthought along with some manuscripts. The paintings are two of eight side panels of

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1320-668: The Etruscan town, then known as Faesulae , was conquered by the Romans . In Roman antiquity, it was the seat of a famous school of augurs and, every year, twelve young men were sent there from Rome to study the art of divination. The old town was either destroyed in the Social War or alternatively by Sulla in 80 BC, in reprisal for supporting the populares faction in Rome. Sulla later colonized it with veterans. This colony who afterward, under

1380-573: The San Marco Museum in Florence. Fiesole Fiesole ( Italian pronunciation: [ˈfjɛːzole] ) is a town and comune of the Metropolitan City of Florence in the Italian region of Tuscany , on a scenic height above Florence , 5 km (3 miles) northeast of that city. It has structures dating to Etruscan and Roman times. Founded in the seventh century BC as Vipsul,

1440-400: The art of Giotto . Few painters in Florence saw his sturdy, lifelike and emotional figures and were not affected by them. His work partner was an older painter, Masolino , of the same generation as Fra Angelico. Masaccio died at 27, leaving the work unfinished. The works of Fra Angelico reveal elements that are both conservatively Gothic and progressively Renaissance . In the altarpiece of

1500-399: The artistic descendant of Fra Angelico. Frederick Hartt describes Fra Angelico as "prophetic of the mysticism" of painters such as Rembrandt , El Greco and Zurbarán . Unknown Rome Cortona Fiesole Florence, Basilica di San Marco Florence, Santa Trinita Florence, Santa Maria degli Angeli Florence, Santa Maria Novella Each cell is decorated with

1560-597: The brilliance of colour and gold that one sees in the most lavish creations of the Gothic painter Simone Martini at the Lower Church of St Francis of Assisi, a hundred years earlier. Yet Fra Angelico has succeeded in creating designs which continue to reveal his own preoccupation with humanity, with humility and with piety. The figures, in their lavish gilded robes, have the sweetness and gentleness for which his works are famous. According to Vasari: In their bearing and expression,

1620-437: The cells of San'Marco, Fra Angelico had demonstrated that painterly skill and the artist's personal interpretation were sufficient to create memorable works of art, without the expensive trappings of blue and gold. In the use of the unadorned fresco technique, the clear bright pastel colours, the careful arrangement of a few significant figures and the skillful use of expression, motion and gesture, Michelangelo showed himself to be

1680-659: The cells, the Maesta (or Coronation of the Madonna) with Saints (cell 9), and many other devotional frescoes, smaller in format but of a remarkable luminous quality, depicting aspects of the Life of Christ that adorn the walls of each cell. In 1439 Fra Angelico completed one of his most famous works, the San Marco Altarpiece at Florence. It broke new ground. Not unusual had been images of the enthroned Madonna and Child surrounded by saints,

1740-450: The church of Santo Stefano del Ponte. The first record of Angelico as a friar dates from 1423, the first reference to Fra Giovanni (Friar John), following the custom of those entering one of the older religious orders of taking a new name. He was a member of the convent of Fiesole . The Dominican Order is one of the medieval mendicant Orders . Mendicants generally lived not from the income of estates but from begging or donations. Fra ,

1800-417: The city became one of the most important and earliest urban centres of the Etruscan civilisation. Since the fourteenth century, the city has always been considered a getaway for members of the upper class of Florence and, up to this day, Fiesole remains noted for its very expensive residential properties, just as well as its centuries-old villas and their formal gardens. The city is generally considered to be

1860-463: The complexity of design, number of figures, elaboration of detail and skilful use of gold leaf. Above these works stood a row of painted Popes in brilliant brocades and gold tiaras. None of these splendours have any place in the work which Michelangelo created. Michelangelo, when asked by Pope Julius II to ornament the robes of the Apostles in the usual way, responded that they were very poor men. Within

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1920-431: The constraints of wealthy clients and the limitations of panel painting, Fra Angelico was able to express his deep reverence for his God and his knowledge and love of humanity. The meditational frescoes in the cells of the convent have a quieting quality about them. They are humble works in simple colours. There is more mauvish pink than there is red, and the brilliant and expensive blue is almost totally lacking. In its place

1980-487: The custom was that the setting looked heaven-like, saints and angels hovering as ethereal presences rather than earthly substance. But in the San Marco Altarpiece , the saints stand squarely within the space, grouped in a natural way as if conversing about their shared witness of the Virgin in glory. This fresh genre, Sacred Conversations , was to underlie major commissions of Giovanni Bellini , Perugino and Raphael . In 1445 Pope Eugene IV summoned him to Rome to paint

2040-526: The dynasty that was set to dominate Florentine politics for much of the Renaissance. Cosimo had a cell reserved for himself at the friary so that he might retreat from the world . It was, writes Vasari, at Cosimo's urging that Fra Angelico set about the task of decorating the convent, including the magnificent fresco of the Chapter House, the much reproduced Annunciation at the top of the stairs leading to

2100-457: The early Middle Ages, no less powerful than Florence in the valley below, and many wars arose between them. In 1010 and 1025, Fiesole was sacked by the Florentines. Later, it was conquered by Florence in 1125, when its leading families were obliged to take up their residence in Florence. Dante reflects this rivalry in his Divine Comedy by referring to "the beasts of Fiesole" (Inferno XV.73). By

2160-406: The flower of Tuscany. Apelles (see main article) was a highly renowned painter of Ancient Greece , whose output, now completely lost, is thought to have centred chronologically around 330 BCE. On display near the main altar is a marble tombstone, an exceptional honour for an artist at that time. Two epitaphs were written, probably by Lorenzo Valla . The first reads: "In this place is enshrined

2220-516: The fourteenth century, rich Florentines had countryside villas in Fiesole, and one of them is the setting of the frame narrative of the Decameron . Boccaccio 's poem Il Ninfale fiesolano is a mythological account of the origins of the community. It is also documented that the artist and scientist Leonardo da Vinci experimented for the first time with early flying models on the hills of Fiesole. In

2280-553: The frescoes for the Niccoline Chapel for Nicholas V. The scenes from the lives of the two martyred deacons of the Early Christian Church, St. Stephen and St. Lawrence may have been executed wholly or in part by assistants. The small chapel, with its brightly frescoed walls and gold leaf decorations gives the impression of a jewel box. From 1449 until 1452, Fra Angelico was back at his old convent of Fiesole, where he

2340-561: The frescoes of the Chapel of the Holy Sacrament at St Peter's , later demolished by Pope Paul III . Vasari suggests this might have been when Fra Angelico was offered the Archbishopric of Florence by Pope Nicholas V , to turn it down, recommending instead another friar. The story seems possible, and even likely. However, the detail does not tally. In 1445 the pope was Eugene IV . Nicholas

2400-430: The friar: From various accounts of Fra Angelico's life, it is possible to gain some sense of why he was deserving of canonization. He led the devout and ascetic life of a Dominican friar, and never rose above that rank; he followed the dictates of the order in caring for the poor; he was always good-humored. All of his many paintings were of divine subjects, and it seems that he never altered or retouched them, perhaps from

2460-399: The glory, the mirror, and the ornament of painters, John the Florentine. A religious and a true servant of God, he was a brother of the holy Order of Saint Dominic. His disciples mourn the death of such a great master, for who will find another brush like his? His homeland and his order mourn the death of a distinguished painter, who had no equal in his art." Inside a Renaissance style niche is

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2520-630: The influence of the Sienese school is discernible in his work. He trained also with master Varricho in Milan Despite quite a few moves of the convents where he lived, this did little to constrain his artistic output, which rapidly acquired a reputation. According to Vasari , his first paintings were an altarpiece and a painted screen for the Charterhouse (Carthusian monastery) of Florence . Nothing remains of these today. From 1408 to 1418, Fra Angelico

2580-529: The leadership of Gaius Mallius, supported the cause of Catilina . The Roman theatre, below the cathedral to the northeast, has 19 tiers of stone seats and is 37 yards (34 m) in diameter. It has been restored partially enough to provide a good idea of its structure. Above it is an embanking wall of irregular masonry, and below it some remains of Roman baths, including five parallel vaults of concrete. More than 1,000 silver denarii , all coined before 63 BC, were found at Faesulae in 1829. A small museum contains

2640-521: The lineal connection, superficially there may seem little to link the humble priest with his sweetly pretty Madonnas and timeless Crucifixions to the dynamic expressions of Michelangelo's larger-than-life creations. But both these artists received their most important commissions from the wealthiest and most powerful of all patrons, the Vatican. When Michelangelo took up the Sistine Chapel commission, he

2700-472: The neighborhood are: The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio is set in the slopes of Fiesole. The city was featured equally in the novels Peter Camenzind (1904) by Hermann Hesse , A Room with a View (1908) by E. M. Forster , and in the book of travel essays Italian Hours (1909) by Henry James . Madonna of Humility (Fra Angelico) The Madonna of Humility is a tempera-on-wood painting by Fra Angelico , executed in 1433–1435, which belongs to

2760-603: The objects found in the excavations of the theatre. Fiesole was the scene of Stilicho 's great victory over the Germanic hordes of the Vandals and Suebi under Radagaisus in 406. During the Gothic War (536–553), the town was besieged several times. In 539, Justin , the Byzantine general, captured it and razed its fortifications. It was an independent town for several centuries in

2820-483: The painter's relief in Dominican habit. A second epitaph reads: "Here lies the venerable painter Brother John of the Order of Preachers. May I be praised not because I looked like another Apelles, but because I have offered to you, O Christ, all my wealth. For some, their works survive on earth; for others in heaven. The city of Florence gave birth to me, John." The English writer and critic William Michael Rossetti wrote of

2880-419: The patron's importance. This, however, constrained the overall style to that of an earlier generation. Thus, the impression left by altarpieces was more conservative than that achieved by frescoes. These, in contrast, were frequently of almost life-sized figures. To gain effect, they could capitalise on an up-to-date stage-set quality rather than having to fall back upon a lavish, but dated, display. Fra Angelico

2940-420: The saints painted by Fra Angelico come nearer to the truth than the figures done by any other artist. It is probable that much of the actual painting was done by his assistants to his design. Both Benozzo Gozzoli and Gentile da Fabriano were highly accomplished painters. Benozzo took his art further towards the fully developed Renaissance style with his expressive and lifelike portraits in his masterpiece depicting

3000-615: The scene each in one of the nine traditional prayer postures depicted in De Modo Orandi . The friar using the cell could place himself in the scene. Orvieto Cathedral Three segments of the ceiling in the Cappella Nuova, with the assistance of Benozzo Gozzoli. Niccoline Chapel The Chapel of Pope Nicholas V, at the Vatican , was probably painted with much assistance from Benozzo Gozzoli and Gentile da Fabriano. The entire surface of

3060-408: The sort of arcades that Michelozzo and Brunelleschi created at San' Marco's and the square in front of it. When Fra Angelico and his assistants went to the Vatican to decorate the chapel of Pope Nicholas, the artist was again confronted with the need to please the very wealthiest of clients. In consequence, walking into the small chapel is like stepping into a jewel box. The walls are decked with

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3120-512: The wall and ceiling is sumptuously painted. There is much gold leaf for borders and decoration, and a great use of brilliant blue made from lapis lazuli . Worldwide press coverage reported in November 2006 that two missing masterpieces by Fra Angelico had turned up, having hung in the spare room of the late Jean Preston, in her terrace house in Oxford , England. Her father had bought them for £100 each in

3180-803: The wealthiest and most affluent suburb of Florence. In 2016, the city had the highest median family income in the whole of Tuscany. Fiesole is a centre of higher education. The campus of the European University Institute is situated in the suburb and uses several historical buildings including the Badia Faesolina and the Villa Schifanoia. Additionally, the American universities, Harvard , Georgetown , and Saint Mary's of Minnesota all maintain campuses at Fiesole. Fiesole ( Latin Faesulae from

3240-599: Was at the Dominican friary of Cortona , where he painted frescoes, mostly now destroyed, in the Dominican Church, and may have been assistant to Gherardo Starnina , or a follower of his. Between 1418 and 1436 he was back in Fiesole, where he executed a number of frescoes for the church and the Fiesole Altarpiece . This was allowed to deteriorate, but has since been restored. A predella of the altarpiece remains intact and

3300-572: Was not to be elected until 6 March 1447. The archbishop in question during 1446–1459 was the Dominican Antoninus of Florence (Antonio Pierozzi), canonised by Pope Adrian VI in 1523. In 1447 Fra Angelico was in Orvieto with his pupil, Benozzo Gozzoli , executing works for the Cathedral . Among his other pupils were Zanobi Strozzi . From 1447 to 1449 Fra Angelico was back at the Vatican, designing

3360-468: Was reported to say "He who does Christ's work must stay with Christ always". This motto earned him the epithet "Blessed Angelico", because of the perfect integrity of his life and the almost divine beauty of the images he painted, to a superlative extent those of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Fra Angelico was working at a time when the style of painting was in a state of flux. This transformation had begun

3420-414: Was that a commissioned painting said something about its sponsor: the more gold leaf , the more prestige accrued. Other precious materials in the paint-box were lapis lazuli and vermilion . Paints from these colours lent themselve poorly to a tonal treatment. The azure blue made of powdered lapis lazuli had to be applied flat. As with gold leaf, it was left to the depth and brilliance of colour to announce

3480-542: Was the Prior. In 1455, Fra Angelico died while staying at a Dominican convent in Rome, perhaps on an order to work on Pope Nicholas' chapel. He was buried in the church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva . When singing my praise, don't liken my talents to those of Apelles . Say, rather, that, in the name of Christ, I gave all I had to the poor. The deeds that count on Earth are not the ones that count in Heaven. I, Giovanni, am

3540-619: Was the contemporary of Gentile da Fabriano . Gentile's altarpiece of the Adoration of the Magi , 1423, in the Uffizi is regarded as one of the greatest works of the style known as International Gothic . At the time it was painted, another young artist, known as Masaccio , was working on the frescoes for the Brancacci Chapel at the church of the Carmine. Masaccio had fully grasped the implications of

3600-451: Was working within a space that had already been extensively decorated by other artists. Around the walls the Life of Christ and Life of Moses were depicted by a range of artists including his teacher Ghirlandaio , Raphael 's teacher Perugino and Botticelli . They were works of large scale and exactly the sort of lavish treatment to be expected in a Vatican commission, vying with each other in

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