The life and inspiring works of the artist who gives your room his name: 7. Fra Angelico ***

Fra Angelico. 1424/5. Christ glorified in the Court of Paradise. San Domenico, Fiesole. Altarpiece, left and right predelle. Photo Sailko. Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.

The Dominican monk Fra Giovanni da Fiesole (Brother John from Fiesole) (1395-1445) was one of the most accomplished early Renaissance artists. His paintings not only incorporated the latest techniques of his time, such as perspective and foreshortening, they also, through their composition and colours — and the intensity of their religious devotion — have a serene beauty. (Even the crucifixions, over which he cried while he was painting them.)

We call him Fra Angelico, but he was affectionately known to his contemporaries as Fra Giovanni Angelico (Angelic Brother John) and later, Beato Angelico (Blessed Angelic One). His artistic skills have long been recognised, but it was not until 1982 that Pope John Paul II confirmed his piety by beatifying him, officially sanctioning the blessed title.

In his Lives of all the Artists, Giorgio Vasari talked of a ‘rare and perfect talent’. He said: “… it 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 painted hundreds of annunciations, nativities. Madonnas, crucifixions and so on, and you will easily access them by typing his name into your search engine, so we thought that in this post we would start by looking at something a little more unusual. At the top of these notes are pictures of the paintings on the predelle* at the left and right-hand of the altarpiece in the church of San Domenico in Fiesole, where Fra Angelico took his vows. In these two vivacious paintings we see the great and good of the Dominican order, past and present, glorifying Christ in the Court of Paradise. How real they look, how dynamic. (*Plural of predella, altar-step, a raised shelf above and behind an altar.)

The frescoes in the San Marco monastery in the centre of Florence are Fra Angelico’s most outstanding achievement. There are dozens of them, both in the monks’ cells (where they were designed to promote private meditation) and in the public spaces (for the glory of God). Here’s an Annunciation:

Fra Angelico. The Annunciation. 1438 to 1450. Fresco. San Marco, Florence. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

A fusion of Medieval tradition and Renaissance innovation

While they point to the future, using new techniques like linear perspective, Fra Angelico’s paintings still allude to the Medieval past. For instance, he often uses gold leaf as a background. You can see examples of this fusion of ancient and modern in paintings online and in Florentine galleries and museums, notably in the Uffizi and San Marco.

So, again in the interests of providing you with something a little out of the ordinary, below is a painting in which the melding of styles was forced on Fra Angelico, rather than chosen by him. This altarpiece, on the Deposition from the Cross, had already been started by Lorenzo Monaco for the Strozzi Chapel in Florence’s Santa Trinità church. Fra Angelico took it over on Monaco’s death in 1425.

Only the pinnacles had been completed, but this constrained the painting within a triple-arched Gothic frame. As you can see, Fra Angelico’s solution was spectacular.

Fra Angelico/Lorenzo Monaco. Between 1423 and 1431. Deposition from the Cross. National Gallery of San Marco, Florence. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Fra Angelico uses the arches to heighten the impact of his composition and reinforce the poignancy of the scene. The central arch is blocked off by the woodwork of the cross and two ladders, drawing the viewer’s eye towards the sinuous figure of the lifeless Christ. The other two arches are filled with urban or rural landscapes. The vertical lines of buildings or trees, together with the tiny observing angels, help to keep the focus on the poignant central figure.

A Coronation of the Virgin and a Last Judgment

Here are just a couple more Fra Angelico paintings for you to enjoy. Most exist in several different versions: he was prolific as well as prestigious and pious! Note the masterly mix of perspective, the dynamism of the figures, the blend of mediaeval iconography with a new spatial awareness.

Fra Angelico. The Coronation of the Virgin. Uffizi Gallery, Florence. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Fra Angelico. The last Judgement, 1435 to 1450. The Gemäldegalerie, Berlin. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

*** Who wants a number on the bedroom door when they could be staying in Botticelli, Bronzino or Brunelleschi? Or Gentileschi, Ghirlandaio or Ghiberti? Or one of another half-dozen famous Italian artists, from Alberti to Vasari?

Some years ago, we decided to switch from numbers to names in each of our rooms. They celebrate famous Italian artists, mainly from the Renaissance and mainly men, because (a) the early Renaissance is our favourite artistic period and (b) because few women were painting professionally in those days, and even fewer have become famous.

At Lois’ insistence we included Artemesia Gentileschi on our list a few years ago, and in 2026 we have introduced Sofonisba Anguissola, despite her tongue-twisting name.