Fra Angelico: Emotion and Devotion

Fra Angelico -St_Domenico Altarpiece (detail)

He was born called Guido di Pietro at Tuscany, Italy in 1387. The story that takes him to the name of Fra Angelico is one of intense dedication and faith.
He was educated from a young age to be a book illustrator but his talent was soon known both for the beauty and delicacy of his works and for the fact that he didn't care about fame or recognition, he painted for pure love and devotion to God resulting in paintings of such intuition and feeling that didn't contain a trace that was not full of his belief in the constant presence of God.
In 1420 he entered the monastery of St. Domenico in Fiesole and there he was renamed Fra Giovanni and his art began there as he had begun in his youth, painting Illuminations in ancient manuscripts in the Gothic style.

Fra Angelico Illumination

His reputation grew and soon he was commissioned to paint altars and other works of great proportions. Unfortunately most of his earlier works, especially the frescoes, were destroyed or irreversibly damaged.
But Fra Angelico has produced intensely, we still have few works of his to appreciate and understand, if it's even possible to understand the faith of this man.

Fra Angelico

"The Crucifixion" - 1420 to 1423

We can say that Fra Angelico put a lot of emphasis and drama on the characters, notice how the Virgin Mary is fainted on the ground, there are more people around her to help the poor mother, as if Fra Angelico wanted to make it clear that the death of Christ was only painful for The Mother and for the angels - only few people look directly at Christ - and he emphasizes the posture of the Roman soldiers (note that even two of the horses were a little worried about Mary).
Fra Angelico's emotion in bringing this picture to life was so great, so intense, that he wept and cried from beginning to the end.

"Fiesole Altarpiece" 1424 to 1425

Convent of San Domenico, Fiesole

We see in the center of the image the Madonna and Child surrounded by angels. The child is shown naked trying to reach out and appreciates two flowers: a white rose, of a purity and a red one, a forecast of his future passion in Eucharist: the panel was actually painted for the high altar of the church for a celebration of this Western Sacrament.
Unfortunately this work was modified by several artists throughout the centuries and, although the theme was maintained, the original touch of Fra Angelico was lost.

"Coronation of the Virgin" 1432

A golden background brings light to the image, an inheritance of medieval painting, about which is a little paradise where the Coronation is happening.
It is Christ Himself who crowns the Virgin Mother; Both are surrounded by rays (executed through a recording technique above the golden background) that symbolize the divine light. The painting has a mystical tone and is full of characters, to the point of being difficult to capture all the faces, this is found in other works of Fra Angelico, with a great multitude of saints, angels and blessed figures that improve this aspect. To the left, in the foreground, is St. Egidius, head of the church that originally housed the work. His face is perhaps modeled on Antonino Pierozzi, the former former of the convent of San Marco, of which Fra Angelico belonged. He is followed by Zenobius of Florence, St. Francis and St. Dominic. On the right side are the saints: among them is a Mary Magdalene kneeling. In the last queues are the angel musicians.


"Coronation of the Virgin" 1434 to 1435

Louvre - Paris

The work shows several differences from the Coronation that we can find in Uffizi. The golden background was replaced by a more realistic blue sky. The composition is more advanced, perhaps inspired by the new painters. Fra Angelico here depicts a rich ciborium - a receptacle shaped like a shrine or a cup with an arched cover - with a triple Gothic mullions - a vertical bar between the panes of glass in a window - supported by a series of polychrome marble stages, such as the whole of the Intuition. Elements such as the twisted columns show similarities to the tabernacles painted in the frescos of the Chapel of Niccolina in Rome.

"The Annunciation" - 1434

This is a work complex and full of inspired symbolism.
The angel Gabriel comes to announce to Mary that she will be the Virgin Mother of the Son of God. The gestures of his hands speak for themselves, as well as his face at once serious and placid with the great message he came to bring. But Fra Angelico also made Gabriel to speak "The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you." (Luke. 1:35) and the complexity of wing design shows that Fra Angelico has probably done a meticulous study of bird wings also the ornamentation of Gabriel's tunic is inspired by the Chinese Ming porcelain.
Mary already presents the halo of divinity representing her chastity and her destiny. Note that to emphasize that Gabriel is "holier" for being an angel his garments come rays of divine light.
The crossed hands over Mary's chest say gesthetically (just like Gabriel's hands) that she accepts and submits to the task that God has assigned her.
The Bible says that when Gabriel arrived Mary was reading The Old Testament and that she was reflecting on the passage from the Book of Isaiah about a young woman giving birth to a son (Isaiah 7:14). Mary is dressed simply, her hair covered by an almost transparent veil, and her face is as pure and refined as the angel's.
Then Mary speaks to the angel " I am the Lord's servant, "Mary answered." May your word be fulfilled to me. " (Luke 1:38)
Their words were written upside down to show that the converse was directed at God.
The dove upon her head of the Holy Spirit is presented to demonstrate that that was the very moment of conception. Also note that there is a door behind them covered with a red curtain, a clear sign that Mary was a virgin.
The other details of the scene are also interesting. In the last plane to the left we see Adam and Eve being expelled from Eden and the place where they are is arid as a desert. At the same time, in the plane where Maria and Gabriel are there is grass and flowers, it means that The original sin of Adam and Eve would be redeemed in the future by the sacrifice of the child of God whom had just been conceived. The garden full of yellow and small flowers, just yellow and small as the stars on the ceiling of the house, a harmonious and subtle detail.

Perugia Altarpiece - 1437 or 1438. Galleria Nazionale dell'Umbria, Perugia.

Fra Angelico, is said, made a prayer before each brushstroke. If so, at this collection of masterpieces he prayed all his way to heaven.

Last Supper 1522

I also love the way he re-created the scene of the Last Supper. The L-shaped table so that there were no apostles sitting behind, without faces only their backs, instead he left the chairs empty and the apostles aside on their knees. Both Jesus and Mary Magdalene have no chairs to sit down. Pure genius.


It was only in 1550, five years after his death, that Fra Giovanni came to be known as Fra Angelico "angelic" in English as reference to his resplendent work and admiration of his legacy that brought to the Churches and monasteries the reflection of a man's work who lived in devotion and painted by faith, being largely responsible for the Dominican proliferation. He was not just an artist, it was way more than that, he was an inspired saint.
In 1982, Pope John Paul II proclaimed his beatification, in recognition of the holiness of his life and his legacy that brought many inspiration and fellowship with God.

St. Dominic, by Fra Angelico

He was buried in the church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva. The translation of his grave's epitaph says:

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 the flower of Tuscany.