The first is 'The Crucifixion', about 2' x 1'6" with a gold background. It shows Christ being crucified but has some unusual touches as well as the angels flying in the background and human contingent on the ground. It shows the Good Brother experimenting with foreshortening, showing people bending down so you don't see their full face, showing a man with a hairy chest (not sure I've ever seen a hairy chest in a Renaissance painting) and it has what is thought to be his name painted on the bridle of the horse at the front of the group. The painting shows some damage with some of the paint being scraped off from the gold but its simple beauty remains. It's thought to be an early Fra Angelico from when he was still an apprentice and had just taken holy orders but it still shines with his purity.
The second painting is small, about 6" square, and is a head and shoulders of a saint. The sign in the museum said it was 'A Saint Bishop' but if you look online it refers to the painting as 'Saint Alexander'. It's a simple portrait of a bishop with a grey beard - might this be the same grey bearded man who looks out of Brother John's painting of saints in the National Gallery in London? Rather strangely for such a small painting, it's hung over six feet high on the wall and that makes it difficult for most people to see.
It's always a joy to see Fra Angelico paintings and that's two more to add to my list.
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