The ''Fiesole Altarpiece'' is a painting by the Italian early Renaissance master

Fra Angelico Fra Angelico (born Guido di Pietro; February 18, 1455) was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance, described by Vasari in his '' Lives of the Artists'' as having "a rare and perfect talent".Giorgio Vasari, ''Lives of the Artists''. Pengu ...

, executed around 1424–1425. It is housed in the

Convent of San Domenico, Fiesole The Convent of San Domenico ( it, Convento di San Domenico) is a Dominican convent in Fiesole, Italy, situated between the hill of Fiesole and the suburbs of Florence. It was founded in 1406 and completed in 1435 on the initiative of Giovann ...

, central

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. The background was repainted by

Lorenzo di Credi Lorenzo di Credi (1456/59 – January 12, 1537) was an Italian Renaissance painter and sculptor best known for his paintings of religious subjects. He is most famous for having worked in the studio of Andrea del Verrocchio at the same time ...

in 1501.

History

The altarpiece is among the earliest known works by Fra Angelico. It was originally commissioned for the high altar in the convent's church, but was later moved to a side altar where it is currently visible. In 1501 Lorenzo di Credi repainted the background, which was probably gilded, with a more modern landscape featuring a throne with baldachin, trompe-l'oeil reliefs and two landscapes between pillars. The Gothic cusps were also eliminated in that occasion.

Description

The work is a ''

Maestà Maestà , the Italian word for "majesty", designates a classification of images of the enthroned Madonna with the child Jesus, the designation generally implying accompaniment by angels, saints, or both. The ''Maestà'' is an extension of the "Se ...

'', a Madonna enthroned, a theme particularly fashionable in Florentine art at the time. The central group with the Madonna and Child is surrounded by eight adoring angels depicted in smaller size. The saints Thomas of Aquino, Barnabas, Dominic and Peter of Verona are at the sides: these were three saints of the

Dominican Order The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of ...

(the same owning the convent) and the namesake of Barnaba degli Agli, a Florentine man who had donated 6,000 florins for the convent's restoration and enlargement. The naked Child is shown while grasping two flowers: a white rose, symbol of purity, and a red one, a forecast of his future passion connected with the

Eucharist The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...

: the panel was in fact painted for the church's high altar, where the celebration of this sacrament occurs. The composition resembles that of Masaccio's San Giovenale Triptych (1422). The scheme is also similar to the cartoon of the ''Assumption'' by

Lorenzo Ghiberti Lorenzo Ghiberti (, , ; 1378 – 1 December 1455), born Lorenzo di Bartolo, was an Italian Renaissance sculptor from Florence, a key figure in the Early Renaissance, best known as the creator of two sets of bronze doors of the Florence Baptister ...

for the windows in the façade of Florence Cathedral (1404–1405). It is also one of the most ancient polyptychs in which the figures are in the same painted surface, without being divided into different compartments. Elements such as the less evolved perspective and the tile pavements (also found in an anonymous Florentine triptych from 1419 and an altarpiece by Angelico himself at San Gimignano) led to the datation of some three years before his

San Pietro Martire Triptych The ''St. Peter of Verona Triptych'' (Italian: ''Trittico di San Pietro Martire'') is a painting by the Italian early Renaissance master Fra Angelico, executed around 1428–1429. It is housed in the National Museum of San Marco, Florence, regio ...

, which is documented from 1428. The work had a

predella In art a predella (plural predelle) is the lowest part of an altarpiece, sometimes forming a platform or step, and the painting or sculpture along it, at the bottom of an altarpiece, sometimes with a single much larger main scene above, but oft ...

, now at the National Gallery, London and portraying ''Adoration of Saints, Prophets and Members of the Dominican Order''. The latter also houses a tondo with ''St. Romulus'', perhaps located above the polyptych. The side pillars were decorated by ten small panels with saints and blessed, four of which are known today: two are at the

Musée Condé The Musée Condé – in English, the Condé Museum – is a French museum located inside the Château de Chantilly in Chantilly, Oise, 40 km north of Paris. In 1897, Henri d'Orléans, Duke of Aumale, son of Louis Philippe I, bequeathed the ...

Chantilly Chantilly may refer to: Places France *Chantilly, Oise, a city located in the Oise department **US Chantilly, a football club *Château de Chantilly, a historic château located in the town of Chantilly United States * Chantilly, Missou ...

and two in private collections.

Predella of the Fiesole Altarpiece

Sources

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{{Fra Angelico 1420s paintings Paintings by Fra Angelico Paintings of the Madonna and Child Collections of the National Gallery, London Paintings in Tuscany Angels in art Altarpieces Books in art Paintings of Thomas Aquinas