At the turn of the 15th century, Guido di Pietro, later known as Fra Angelico, was living a quiet life of devotion in the hills above Florence. Among his Dominican brothers, he carried out the meticulous work of illuminating religious manuscripts and, later, painting fresco.
But when Cosimo de Medici established himself as the powerful patron of a new Dominican community in the 1430s, Fra Angelico found himself in the right place at the right time. The stark walls of San Marco became the perfect canvas for his vision—a chance to transform monastic cells and corridors into spaces of contemplation through frescoes both otherworldly and deeply human. And he was thrust from cloistered solitude into the vibrant artistic life of Renaissance Florence.
Art historian Laura Morelli explores the remarkable life and light of Fra Angelico, from his masterworks at San Marco and beyond. She examines the unique historical convergence of talent, faith, and patronage that made the Dominican artist a master of devotional painting, with a luminous style that continues to move viewers more than 500 years later.
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