Fra Angelico The light of the soul : painting panels and frescoes from the Convent of San Marco, Florence

Jacqueline Guillaud

Book - 1986

The fifteenth-century Florentine painter Fra Angelico was a pivotal figure of the Italian Renaissance. The work of this devout Dominican friar was nurtured in Gothic convention, yet came to embody and carry forward the tide of innovation begun by Giotto and others a century before. In frescoes and paintings on wood, Angelico's superb handling of color; his mastery of the new science of perspective, and his delicate modeling of faces and figures have earned him increasing recognition as the greatest successor to Massaccio and an important influence on Piero della Francesca. Prefigurations of the High Renaissance work of Raphael and da Vinci may also be glimpsed in Angelico's mature work. Yet for this deeply religious artist/friar..., innovation always served his higher purpose: to inspire the viewer to contemplation, devotion, and awareness of the sacred. Fra Angelico: The Light of the Soul is the first major book devoted to the art of this inspired Renaissance master. Focusing on his work in the museum and cells of the convent of San Marco, Florence, which houses Angelico's finest and most representative work, this beautiful volume contains 190 illustrations reproduced in four colors plus gold. The great frescoes, represented for the first time since their restoration in 1983, are reproduced on onionskin paper to stunning effect, beautifully conveying their luminosity and freshness. Dramatic close-ups, moving details, and startling juxtapositions bring to life the full range of the artist's work--from his famous frescoes, the Crucifixion and Annunciation, to the monumental San Marco and Bosco ai Frati altarpieces, to his small and delicate Scenes from the Life of Christ. -- ‡c From book jacket. more