Fra Angelico’s masterpieces at Museo di San Marco and Palazzo Strozzi blend faith, color, and emotion in a rare Florence showcase.
Newsroom (06/11/2025, Gaudium Press ) The landmark exhibition dedicated to Fra Angelico (c. 1395–1455), the Dominican friar whose posthumous moniker honors his pious legacy, stands as an unmissable pilgrimage for art lovers. Spanning two iconic venues — the Museo di San Marco and Palazzo Strozzi — the show illuminates the artist’s profound fusion of devotion and innovation.
Born Guido di Piero and known in his order as Fra Giovanni, Angelico transformed his friary at San Marco into a canvas of spiritual mastery. Co-curator Stefano Casciu deems the museum “Fra Angelico’s museum,” anchored by his frescoes and the revered San Marco Altarpiece. Commissioned by Cosimo de’ Medici, the site embodies 15th-century Florence’s interplay of faith, culture, and power, as historian Ada Palmer notes in Inventing the Renaissance.
Visitors encounter a spectrum of pilgrims: art enthusiasts drawn to the frescoes, Catholics honoring St. Antoninus, and scholars seeking monastic authenticity. Yet, secular interpretations risk diluting the works’ Catholic essence — Angelico painted for divine affirmation, not aesthetic detachment alone.
At Palazzo Strozzi, curated by emeritus Philadelphia Museum of Art specialist Carl Brandon Strehlke, highlights include The Last Judgment. Vasari praised Angelico’s “rare and perfect talent”; here, vivid hues and imaginative composition render damnation uplifting, inspired by St. Augustine’s City of God. Fondazione director Arturo Galansino jests that viewers aspire to the saved souls on the left.
Restorations enhance 28 pieces, including Christ as King of Kings, where Christ’s unyielding gaze conveys suffering and sovereign strength. The catalogue underscores Angelico’s pioneering emotional transmission, echoed by admirers like Ruskin and Henry James.
Avoiding Uffizi crowds, San Marco offers serene reflection — though this exhibition may draw throngs. Contrasting a recent Tracey Emin show, Angelico’s vision endures as optimistic theology in paint. Through restored brilliance, the friar-painter remains Florence’s guiding spirit.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from Catholic Herald
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