The first painting I found was entitled 'The Thebaid - Scenes From The Lives Of The Hermits From The Province Of Thebes', was completed around 1420 and based on medieval tales of hermits in Greece. It has only recently been attributed to Fra Angelico as one of his early works. I immediately re-named it as 'hunt the hermit' since all over the panel were little scenes of hermits in their chosen abodes, from those who bricked in their homes or lived in caves to the rather more exotic.
The second painting was across the room, a glorious Madonna and Child with the baby Jesus nuzzling his mother while she looks contentedly into the middle distance. This is the best version I could find online but it doesn't do the real painting any justice. It really is beautiful, with delicate skin tones and blushes, with gorgeous pinks and blues. It's about two feet tall and gleams with gold and belief.
The third painting was beside the Madonna and Child, a Coronation of the Virgin painting with Jesus crowning his mother as queen of heaven, flanked by angels and saints, with, of course, some of the human figures looking out of the painting towards the viewer. I'm sure it is possible to decipher this painting in terms of the emblems held by the various figures and their clothes, but that's for another day. It really does glow when you see it in real life.
Fra Angelico is a master at his art. His art is not solely painting, carefully applying wet colours to frescoes or panels, but rather to depict belief. This is the man who declined a bishopric but painted his meditations on the walls of a chilly San Marco. His vision was pure.
2 comments:
I am so glad to find a copy of the Hermits painting on the internet. I have recently visited the Uffizi and thought this painting was wonderful, you could look at all the detail for hours
Same for me! Great to find it here!
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