Fra Angelico (about 1400‐1455)

Fra
Angelico
Fra
Angelico
(about
1400‐1455)
Clues:
1.
Cortona
2.
Famous
painter
in
15th
century
Tuscany
3.
Dominican
Friar
4.
Illuminated
Manuscripts
5.
Painted
Altarpieces
6.
Patron
of
Catholic
Artists
In
today’s
society,
we
frequently
see
artists,
musicians,
and
actors
reaching
for
sensationalism
and
shocking
morality
to
attract
people
to
their
art.
The
15th
century
master
artist,
Fra
Angelico,
instead
gives
us
another
model—while
practicing
his
craft,
he
remained
so
pious
that
people
changed
his
name
from
“Fra
Giovanni”
to
“Beato
Angelico”
(“Blessed”
“Angelic”).
Museum
Tour
We
will
be
taking
a
virtual
tour
of
Fra
Angelico’s
most
famous
works.
When
you
are
connected
to
the
Internet,
click
on
the
buttons
and
you
will
be
brought
to
websites
where
you
can
find
additional
images
and
information
on
the
artist.
To
get
the
greatest
benefit
of
this
tour,
take
a
sketchpad
in
hand
and
draw
from
Fra
Angelico’s
paintings,
also
taking
notes
of
any
thoughts
or
impressions
that
you
may
have.
If
drawing
is
not
something
you
are
comfortable
with,
just
enjoy
the
pictures,
absorbing
the
colors,
forms
and
design.
Copyright
to
all
intellectual
property,
articles,
images,
text,
projects,
lessons
and
exercises
within
this
document
belong
to
Diane
Cardaci
and
may
not
be
reproduced
or
used
for
any
commercial
purposes
whatsoever
without
the
written
permission
of
Diane
Cardaci.
Website:
www.dianecardaci.com
E‐mail:
diane@dianecardaci.com
1
Fra
Angelico
San
Domenico
Altarpiece
(1423‐24)
Fra
Angelico
painted
this
Altarpiece
(clue
#5)
early
in
his
career.
Fra
Angelico
had
been
a
painter
of
illuminated
manuscripts
(clue
#4),
and
in
this
altarpiece
you
can
see
some
of
the
typical
characteristics
of
these
miniature
illustrations:
decorative
lines,
luminous
colors,
and
the
use
of
gold.
Also,
the
figures
in
the
illuminated
manuscripts
did
not
have
a
strong
sense
of
three‐dimensional
form.
For
an
online
tour
of
an
exquisitely
illuminated
manuscript,
click
on
the
link.
Copyright
to
all
intellectual
property,
articles,
images,
text,
projects,
lessons
and
exercises
within
this
document
belong
to
Diane
Cardaci
and
may
not
be
reproduced
or
used
for
any
commercial
purposes
whatsoever
without
the
written
permission
of
Diane
Cardaci.
Website:
www.dianecardaci.com
E‐mail:
diane@dianecardaci.com
2
Fra
Angelico
Descent
From
the
Cross
(1434)
Around
the
time
that
Fra
Angelico
painted
this
altarpiece,
he
was
already
one
of
the
most
famous
painters
in
15th
century
Tuscany
(clue
#2).
In
these
panels,
you
can
see
that
this
artist
integrated
a
receding
landscape
into
the
composition
of
the
figures.
This
was
a
major
step
forward
in
the
development
of
the
Renaissance
style,
and
in
fact
many
art
historians
feel
this
is
the
first
time
it
had
been
done
successfully
in
Italy.
Copyright
to
all
intellectual
property,
articles,
images,
text,
projects,
lessons
and
exercises
within
this
document
belong
to
Diane
Cardaci
and
may
not
be
reproduced
or
used
for
any
commercial
purposes
whatsoever
without
the
written
permission
of
Diane
Cardaci.
Website:
www.dianecardaci.com
E‐mail:
diane@dianecardaci.com
3
Fra
Angelico
The
Annunciation
(1433‐34)
Fra
Angelico
completed
several
paintings
of
the
Annunciation.
One
beautiful
version
can
be
found
in
Cortona
(clue#1),
at
the
Museo
Diocesano.
The
painter/friar
exhibits
in
this
altarpiece
his
knowledge
of
the
“new
theories”
of
perspective
with
his
realistic
rendering
of
the
portico.
Copyright
to
all
intellectual
property,
articles,
images,
text,
projects,
lessons
and
exercises
within
this
document
belong
to
Diane
Cardaci
and
may
not
be
reproduced
or
used
for
any
commercial
purposes
whatsoever
without
the
written
permission
of
Diane
Cardaci.
Website:
www.dianecardaci.com
E‐mail:
diane@dianecardaci.com
4
Fra
Angelico
San
Marco,
Florence
(1436–1445)
Fra
Angelico,
being
a
Dominican
friar
(clue
#3),
took
residence
at
the
Dominican
cloister
of
San
Marco
in
Florence
during
the
years
1436‐1445.
Here
he
decorated
the
walls
of
the
cells
of
the
friars
so
that
they
would
have
inspiration
for
their
meditations
and
prayer.
Below
are
some
of
the
paintings
in
the
cells—if
you
would
like
to
see
additional
ones,
you
can
click
on
the
link
to
the
right.
Noli
Me
Tangere
(Cell
1)
Copyright
to
all
intellectual
property,
articles,
images,
text,
projects,
lessons
and
exercises
within
this
document
belong
to
Diane
Cardaci
and
may
not
be
reproduced
or
used
for
any
commercial
purposes
whatsoever
without
the
written
permission
of
Diane
Cardaci.
Website:
www.dianecardaci.com
E‐mail:
diane@dianecardaci.com
5
Fra
Angelico
Presentation
of
Jesus
in
the
Temple
(Cell
10)
Copyright
to
all
intellectual
property,
articles,
images,
text,
projects,
lessons
and
exercises
within
this
document
belong
to
Diane
Cardaci
and
may
not
be
reproduced
or
used
for
any
commercial
purposes
whatsoever
without
the
written
permission
of
Diane
Cardaci.
Website:
www.dianecardaci.com
E‐mail:
diane@dianecardaci.com
6
Fra
Angelico
Institution
of
the
Eucharist
(Cell
35)
Copyright
to
all
intellectual
property,
articles,
images,
text,
projects,
lessons
and
exercises
within
this
document
belong
to
Diane
Cardaci
and
may
not
be
reproduced
or
used
for
any
commercial
purposes
whatsoever
without
the
written
permission
of
Diane
Cardaci.
Website:
www.dianecardaci.com
E‐mail:
diane@dianecardaci.com
7
Fra
Angelico
San
Marco
Altarpiece
(1438‐1443)
In
this
panel,
Fra
Angelico
once
again
shows
his
skill
at
including
a
landscape
background.
In
addition,
the
composition
shows
a
wonderful
and
stable
symmetry.
There
is
a
strong
sense
of
space
in
front
of
the
throne,
created
by
the
perspective
lines
of
the
floor.
The
curtains
at
the
upper
right
and
left
corners
also
help
increase
this
sense
of
space.
Another
new
development
in
this
painting
is
that
the
angels
and
the
Virgin
are
grouped
together
in
the
composition.
This
compositional
technique
is
called
“Sacred
Conversations”
and
was
used
frequently
in
the
Renaissance
by
other
artists,
such
as
Raphael.
Copyright
to
all
intellectual
property,
articles,
images,
text,
projects,
lessons
and
exercises
within
this
document
belong
to
Diane
Cardaci
and
may
not
be
reproduced
or
used
for
any
commercial
purposes
whatsoever
without
the
written
permission
of
Diane
Cardaci.
Website:
www.dianecardaci.com
E‐mail:
diane@dianecardaci.com
8
Fra
Angelico
Niccoline
Chapel
(1447‐1451)
Pope
Nicholas
V
called
Fra
Angelico
to
Rome
to
decorate
the
walls
of
the
Niccoline
Chapel
at
the
Vatican.
In
the
fresco
below,
Fra
Angelico
creates
a
strong
sense
of
space
with
his
beautifully
rendered
architectural
details
that
follow
the
laws
of
perspective.
Fra
Angelico
lived
an
exemplary
life
of
piety
and
caring
for
the
poor,
and
believed
his
paintings
were
divinely
inspired.
In
1982,
Pope
John
Paul
II
beatified
Fra
Angelico,
and
soon
after
declared
him
patron
of
Catholic
Artists
(clue
#6).
Copyright
to
all
intellectual
property,
articles,
images,
text,
projects,
lessons
and
exercises
within
this
document
belong
to
Diane
Cardaci
and
may
not
be
reproduced
or
used
for
any
commercial
purposes
whatsoever
without
the
written
permission
of
Diane
Cardaci.
Website:
www.dianecardaci.com
E‐mail:
diane@dianecardaci.com
9