Fra Angelico Christmas Cards

I had a few minutes to spare the other day while waiting for a train so I wandered into Paperchase to see whether their Christmas cards were any good this year. While browsing the displays a pack of cards caught my eye and looked a bit familiar so I picked it up for a closer look and lo and behold, a Fra Angelico painting graced the front of the card.

Or rather, four paintings by Fra Angelico to be exact. Four scenes from a panel of nine paintings that were originally part of the doors to a cupboard that held the sacred silverware in the church of Santissima Annunziata in Florence. The panel is now in the museum of San Marco in Florence where I've seen it. The scenes cover the Annunciation, the Nativity, The Adoration of the Magi and the Presentation in the Temple. I looked it up in my handy guide to San Marco.

It's nice to see something on a random card that I've seen in real life.

I now have another challenge. There is not just one card using Fra Angelico paintings, there are two. The other is a painting of an angel, obviously just a detail from a painting, but it's also by Brother Giovanni the Angelic.

This painting looks like it's from one of his many paintings of the Annunciation so I shall have to get out my Big Book of Fra Angelico and track it down. Without seeing more of the painting I don't know if I've seen it - Fra Angelico liked painting Annunciations. The pink and the gold background will help in tracking it down.

I have my mission.

I wonder what Fra Angelico would think about his paintings being on Christmas cards? Back in his day, Christmas cards didn't exist so he wouldn't be familiar with the concept but it does mean that his work goes far and wide to a much bigger audience. Rather than just the rich and powerful or the priests and monks who he painted for, even I can look at his work and marvel. And then send it to other people who will, I hope, look at the paintings and not just see who signed it inside.

Fra Angelico's paintings look pretty safe to us now but, back when he was painting, they were quite radical and used the latest techniques of foreshortening and perspective, new ideas that were more fully explored and mastered by his pupils and later artists. Many of his paintings are meditations and not just pretty pictures.