Fra Angelico : Picturing Divinity

Excellent online course from Paula Nuttall on the 15th century Florentine artist Fra Angelico.

Week one Paula introduced to the artist and placed him in the of the city at the time discussing his influences from Lorenzo Monaco, Masaccio and Gilberti. She also looked at the impact of the theorist Alberti on his work. We looked at Fra Angelico’s early altarpieces.

Week two we concentrated on his work for the monastery of San Marco discussing how the commission came about through Cosimo de Medici’s worries about his immortal soul and his friendship with Pope Eugenius IV who was living in Florence at the time. We started by looking at the altarpiece for the then moving in the dormitories looking in detail at the fresco’s in the cells there. Most fascinating was hearing about the different style of designs for the novices, clerics and lay brothers.


In the final week we looked at commissions outside of San Marco and covered in some detail Fra Angelico’s years in Rome. I hadn’t know about his work there, sadly most of which has been lost. I was intrigued by the fresco cycle which does remain in the Vatican, the Cappella Niccolina, which I haven’t seen. Oh dear that’s another trip needed.

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