fraangelico

Author:Angelico, Fra
Catalog n.P00015
Technique / Support:Oro; Témpera / Tabla
Dimensions:AL 194 cm AN 194 cm FO
Date:Ca. 1426
Subject:Religion. New Testament
Provenance:Royal Collection
School:Italian
Object type:Painting
Displayed in:Villanueva Building – Room 49 (On Show)

This altarpiece was painted for the Convent of Santo Domenico in Fiesole, near Florence. The central panel shows the Archangel Gabriel?s Annunciation to Mary under a portico. On the left, Adam and Eve are being expulsed from Paradise. The damnation and salvation of Humanity. The predella has scenes from the life of the Virgin; Mary?s Birth, Her Wedding with Saint Joseph, Mary?s Visit to her cousin Saint Elisabeth, the Birth of the Christ Child, the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple and the Dormition of the Virgin with Christ receiving her soul.
Fra Angelico, also known as Blessed Angelico, dedicated his work exclusively to religious subjects as he understood art to be an aspect of religious devotion. He was particularly meticulous in the details and qualities of Nature and of the objects and persons depicted. In his style, Fra Angelico merged the late Gothic Italian style with the new language of the Renaissance. An example of this is the architecture?s spatial depth, which, while in keeping with Brunelleschi?s recommendation to occupy the center of a square and unadorned stage, nevertheless shows some of the errors present in Angelico?s early works.