How Fra Angelico shaped the image of the Virgin Mary

The text below is the excerpt of the book Fra Angelico (ISBN: 9781783107599), written by Stephan Beissel, published by Parkstone International.

When Fra Giovanni Angelico lived in Cortona and Fiesole, he had already painted the Madonna. We have also seen that there are important paintings of the Mother of God in San Marco. In the paintings of the Last Judgment, she appears with the Precursor, Saint John the Baptist, at the side of the Lord. Now we will examine other paintings dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

The painting from the Santa Maria Nuova hospital in Florence (Mary and Child Enthroned Between Two Angels or Madonna of Humility) was treated with great simplicity. The painting is well conserved. Mary, holding the Christ Child on her lap, is enthroned between two angels. In a panel of the Gallery of Berlin, unfortunately heavily restored, the Holy Child, clothed, is also seated on the his Mother’s knee. To the right is Saint Dominic, and to the left, Saint Peter Martyr, both in adoration (Madonna and Child with Saint Dominic and Saint Peter Martyr).

In a painting from the Gallery of Palazzo Pitti, (Mary Enthroned with the Christ Child, and Saints Dominic, John the Baptist, Peter Martyr, and Thomas Aquinas, known as the San Pietro Martire Triptych), the composition is richer and is framed by a sumptuous border. It was once found in the Galleria degli Uffizi, where it had been transported from the Camaldolese convent of San Pietro Martire de San Felice. Once again, Mary is enthroned with the clothed infant Jesus at the centre of the composition. To the right and left, separated by columns are the standing figures of Saint John the Baptist, Saint Dominic, Saint Thomas Aquinas, and Saint Peter Martyr. In the tympanums above, the artist shows the Annunciation with the figures in bust, and other little scenes in the background of the main altarpiece.

The Academy of Florence owns, among others, three large paintings with Mary and the infant Jesus accompanied by six saints in each painting. These panels were originally created for the main altars of San Marco, for the Dominicans of Annalena, and for the convent of Bosco ai Frati near Florence (Virgin with Child Accompanied by Angels and the Six Saints : Anthony of Padua, Louis of Toulouse, Francis, Cosmas, Damian, and Peter Martyr known as the Bosco ai Frati Altarpiece). In the last of these paintings the infant Jesus is nude. Independently of the six saints, two angels remain at the sides of the Queen of Heaven’s throne.

In the predella, the Savior is shown leaving his tomb, also surrounded by six saints. According to Rio, these paintings were painted after the master’s voyage to Rome in 1450. The panel from San Marco, (Virgin with Child accompanied by eight angels, six saints, and Cosmos and Damian kneeling) is disjointed, and has been lightly repainted. In this painting (1438), Fra Angelico strives to offer the best of his personal genius, and distances himself noticeably from Giotto to take a new path. This time, he no longer places the saints next to the principal group, parallel to one another like statues, but brings them together into groups. In his manner they form the entourage of their Sovereign and are treated with more liberty and volume than most of his other figures. This was because this altarpiece was destined for a church built by the Medici family, with their ambitious and pious intentions. The altarpiece would be seen by the public, and would be subject to critique by the town’s many capable artists.

Saint Antoninus must have spoken with his humble and subordinate friar, devoted to his superior’s desires, in order to have obtained this incomparably accomplished work. To the two sides, we find Saints Dominic, Francis, and Peter Martyr, as well as Lawrence, Paul, and Mark.

Cosmas and Damian are prostrated before them, surrounded by many little angels. The predella shows a few scenes from the lives of Saints Cosmas and Damian. The panels showing two of these scenes (The Healing of Palladia and The Burial of Cosmas and Damian) are today found in the Academy. Two others are kept in the Santissima Annunziata in Florence, and three more are in the Alte Pinakothek in Munich. The National Gallery of Ireland in Dublin recently acquired one of these fragments. The paintings in Munich are 43 cm high and 36 cm wide. In no. 989, one sees Cosmas, Damian, and their three companions before the judge (Saints Cosmas and Damian before the Proconsul Lysias. The architecture in the background is from the Renaissance, and is reminiscent of the murals in the chapel of Nicholas V in Rome, which will be addressed later.

In no. 990, the five martyrs appear before the judge in the foreground and hurry towards the sea in the background (Saint Cosmas and Saint Damian Saved from Drowning). In no. 991 (The Crucifixion of Saints Cosmas and Damian), the two saints are hung from crosses while three others stand before them. The stones and arrows directed at the crucified saints are reflected back upon the executioners. The colour of this painting seems a bit heavy, perhaps due to repainting.

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