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Artists in 60 Seconds: Fra Angelico

From , former About.com Guide

Image © The National Gallery, London; used with permission

Fra Angelico (Italian, ca. 1390/95-1455). Eighteen Blessed of the Dominican Order, ca. 1420-24. Tempera on panel. Overall, 12 5/8 x 9 in., picture surface 12 1/2 x 8 5/8 in.

© National Gallery, London

Movement, Style, School or Type of Art:

Early Renaissance, Florentine School

Date and Place of Birth:

ca. 1387 (birth name: Guido di Pietro), Vicchio, Tuscany (near Florence)

Life:

A pious, holy man, Fra Angelico somehow managed to combine the life of a Dominican friar with that of an innovative, professional artist. Though his early training was in manuscript illumination, he is best known for his purely colored frescoes, done in everything from monks' cells to a Vatican chapel. The good Fra was influenced by Gentile da Fabriano (early on) and Masaccio (in spatial concepts). Fra Angelico was beatified in 1984 by Pope John Paul II.

Important Works:

  • The Mocking of Christ, 1410-41
  • The Annunciation, 1435-45
  • San Marco Altarpiece, 1438-40
  • St. Lawrence Giving Alms, ca. 1450s

Date and Place of Death:

February 18, 1455, Rome

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  7. Fra Angelico Bio - Early Renaissance Painter Giovanni da Fiesole

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