FRA ANGELICO AT FIESOLE.
[1418-1436.]
hilst Fra Angelico was putting the legends of the Virgin and St. Dominic into colour in Umbria, Giovanni Dominici together with Leonardo Dati, master-general of the Order, was negotiating with the Bishop of Fiesole and Pope Gregory XII. to again obtain possession of the convent founded by Dominici. It was only in 1418 that the Fiesolan bishop acceded to their request, on condition that the Dominicans would make him a present of some sacred vestments to the value of a hundred ducats. This sum, writes Marchese, was taken from the legacy left to the convent by the father of St. Antonino, who died about that time. A rich merchant having died in Florence in the same year, leaving the monks of Fiesole six thousand florins, it was besides decided to enlarge the building. The legal act of free and absolute concession being signed, the father-general at once sent for four of the monks from Cortona, among whom, as we have said, were neither Fra Angelico nor Fra Benedetto. This does not imply that all the others who had left in 1409, might not have returned later, and probably Fra Angelico among them.[16]
It was in this convent from which on the side towards the ridge of the Fiesole hill, he looked on the olives spreading their silvery branches against the blue sky, that Fra Angelico, absorbed in work and prayer, passed the greater part of his life. It is impossible to determine at which of the many works that now adorn the Florentine and foreign galleries, he worked during his stay in Fiesole, where he remained till 1436; certainly he painted the panel pictures for his church, the Tabernacle of the Linen Weavers, and frescoes in some parts of the convent. That convent so dear to him must have awakened in his soul many bitter and sweet memories—whether he thought of the days when he and his brother Benedetto first took their vows, or of the successive vicissitudes when he and the brethren were forced to abandon it.
Vasari asserts that "he painted an Easter candle in several small scenes, for Giovanni Masi, a monk of the convent of Santa Maria Novella; and also some reliquaries which on solemn feast days were placed on the altar," and are preserved to this day in the convent of San Marco. They represent the "Coronation of the Virgin," the "Madonna della Stella" and the "Adoration of the Magi." The Coronation has been too much damaged by useless retouching to be able fully to judge of its merits. It is for this cause perhaps that some people have ventured to doubt its authenticity: "one perceives," writes Cartier, "his religious conception, and desire to follow his model, but the whole composition lacks order and space, the figures are heavy, attitudes embarrassed, proportions short, outlines coarse and the whole painting is strained."[17]
Now this is not absolutely exact. Naturally if we compare this little reliquary with the great "Coronation" at the Louvre, we find the composition more compressed, but it is not confused. True, the types of the Virgin and Redeemer have not that grand simplicity which with sincere enthusiasm we admire in his later panels of the same subject. But possibly we have here the artist's first conception, an idea which he successively developed and perfected till he reached the highest grade of beauty, first in the picture at the Louvre, then in the truly celestial one of the Florentine Gallery.
In the little painting of the Madonna della Stella (of the Star) we have qualities of grace and nobility all Fra Angelico's own. The six adoring angels on the slope of the frame, and the two seated at the base playing musical instruments, not only fully reveal his ability, but might be classed with those of the Linen Weaver's Tabernacle as among the most beautiful and ethereal he ever painted.
The third reliquary which is divided into two parts represents the "Adoration of the Magi," below, and the "Annunciation" above. The Virgin has a book on her lap, her arms crossed on the breast, and head extended towards the celestial messenger who kneels before her; but both figures, though showing Fra Angelico's characteristic sentiment, have exaggerated proportions; the neck is inordinately long, the colouring enamelled, and so brilliant as to give the picture the character of a fine and elegantly illuminated missal. In the "Adoration" the Virgin displays the same defects of proportion, but among the figures of the three Kings and the personages accompanying them, are some of exceptional elegance and exquisite beauty. On the whole the scene may be classed among the finest and most graceful of the works which Fra Angelico has left to us.
There is a kind of reliquary in the Vatican Gallery, which represents the Virgin seated, with the Child on her left arm. Her raised right hand holds the rose, and at her feet kneel St. Dominic and St. Catherine. Cavalcaselle supposes this to have been the fourth of the reliquaries once in Santa Maria Novella, but it more probably belongs to that small painting reproduced by Prof. Helbig,[18] in the Revue de l'Art Chrétien, in which Angelico has represented the death and assumption of the Virgin.
The under part of the picture, representing the death of the Virgin, recalls, in the general grouping of figures, the same subject now in the Uffizi Gallery; but in this one, four Apostles are depicted in the act of raising the bier, while the others surround the Christ, who holds in His arms the soul of His Mother in the form of a babe. In the upper part we see the Virgin with upraised arms, being received by the Saviour who extends His hands as if in welcome. The type of the Virgin recalls that of the small panel representing the "Adoration" and "Annunciation." The Christ is, in the foreshortening and character of the face, a repetition of that on the reliquary of the "Madonna della Stella." The figure of the Virgin is incorporeal and insignificant; but the angels who in varied attitudes dance around the throne playing divers instruments, are charming and graceful.
In the ancient refectory of the Fiesolan convent Fra Angelico painted a life-size Christ Crucified, with St. Dominic kneeling below clinging passionately to the Cross. At the sides stand the Virgin and St. John the Evangelist; there is also a figure of the saintly founder, but it was either added later, or else has been badly restored and cannot be taken as Fra Angelico's work. The picture has been removed from the wall, and is now in the Museum of the Louvre; it is damaged in several parts; the delicacy of colouring is lost, the background spoiled, and only the figures of the Saviour, the Virgin, and the head of St. John remain in tolerable condition.
The other fresco in the old chapter-house (this also has been removed from the wall, and is now in the Hermitage at St. Petersburg), represents the Virgin seated, with the Child on her knee, between St. Dominic and St. Thomas Aquinas; all these figures show signs of incompetent restoration, the outlines and drapery having been repainted. Less spoiled perhaps by retouching, but yet in a deplorable condition, is the other painting, a Crucifixion, still existing in the Sacristy of the Convent. The Redeemer with extended arms, has His head drooping straight on the breast, and the legs are stiffened and curve to the right. A crown of thorns encircles the head, which is surrounded by a great aureole; but the head is small; and the face, with its insignificant features, lacks the intense expression which Fra Angelico usually succeeds in putting into similar subjects.
He also painted the altar-piece for the great altar in San Domenico at Fiesole, "which," writes Vasari, "perhaps because it appeared to be deteriorating, has been retouched and injured by other masters. But the predella and ciborium of the Sacrament are better preserved; and you may see infinite little figures which are lovely in their celestial glory, and appear indeed to come from Paradise, nor can those who draw near ever look at them sufficiently."[19]
The picture is now removed into the choir. In the centre the Virgin with her Son, is seated on the throne; six angels stand around her in act of adoration, and two kneel in front with vases in their hands. At the sides St. Thomas and St. Peter are placed on the left; St. Dominic and St. Peter Martyr on the right. The retouching of which Vasari speaks, was done by Lorenzo di Credi in 1501, when the picture was reduced to its present form. We learn this from a record in the MS. chronicle of the Convent of Fiesole, which is quoted by Padre Marchese in his "Memorie."[20] But the panel has suffered other and worse things than this. Other figures taken from an older frame have been substituted for those in the pilasters. Some coarse copies have been put in the place of the three "stories" of the predella, and the original one was sold, together with the ciborium.[21]
The predella, now in the National Gallery of London, is divided into five compartments. In the centre is Christ robed in white, His right hand raised in benediction, and a standard held in His left; at the sides are a crowd of angels—some blowing trumpets, others playing instruments, others again in attitudes of profound veneration—all have robes of pure and brilliant hues with azure wings lightly sprinkled with gold. The side scenes have multitudes of saints, either standing or kneeling in adoration: on the left are patriarchs, bishops, monks and martyrs, each with his own emblem; on the right, a crowd of kneeling feminine saints among whom we can recognise St. Agnes, St. Catherine and St. Helen, and behind them a line of male saints, amongst them St. Cyprian, St. Clement, St. Thomas, St. Erasmus, and others whose names are written on their mitres. Still higher King David, St. John Baptist and the prophets Jeremiah, Zaccariah and Habakkuk. The faces are painted with great delicacy and accuracy, and although they show some variety of lineament, the expression is rather mannered. The outlines of the feminine saints are full of grace and those of the other sex do not lack great dignity. Although the work is of minor proportion, it shows a noteworthy progress when compared with the conceptions of Orcagna.
PREDELLA.
(National Gallery, London.)
The greater part of the draperies are rendered with most refined colouring, so delicately toned and judiciously contrasted, that no part of the painting appears either crude, or of exaggerated richness; while the gold used in every part of the background contributes to give great harmony to the whole. In the pictures placed at the end of the predella, the Dominicans are depicted in their white robes and black mantles.
This delightful work, which roused the admiration of Vasari, contains not less than 266 figures and may justly be considered as one of the gems of the collection. Executed with all the delicacy of an illumination, it sparkles with bright but harmonious colours, while the spirit of devotion which penetrates the whole is entirely characteristic of the painter.[22]
Angelico reached greater perfection in the picture of the "Annunciation" of which Vasari says: "In a chapel of the same church is a picture from the same hand, representing Our Lady receiving the Annunciation from the angel Gabriel, with a countenance which is seen in profile, so devout, so delicate, and so perfectly executed, that the beholder can scarcely believe it to be by the hand of man, but would rather suppose it to have been delineated in Paradise. In the landscape forming the background are seen Adam and Eve, whose fall made it needful that the Virgin should give birth to the Redeemer."[23]
This picture (purchased in 1611 by Duke Mario Farnese) is now in the Museum at Madrid. The Virgin is seated on the right under a graceful portico sustained by small columns. Her head inclines a little towards the Angel, in the same attitude as in the Cortona altar-piece and the fresco at San Marco. She holds the book on her knees, and crosses her hands on her breast; while the golden winged Angel, in its rose coloured robe, with an arm curved in similar attitude of reverence, sheds light around, as in the painting at Cortona. High up in the left corner the hand of the Eternal Father sends down a ray of light, in the midst of which the Holy Spirit is symbolized. In the background, as in the Cortona picture, Adam and Eve are being expelled from Paradise.
In the predella are some beautiful "stories" representing the "Marriage of the Virgin," the "Salutation," the "Adoration of the Magi," the "Circumcision of Christ" and the "Death of the Virgin."[24]
"But superior to all the other works of Fra Giovanni, and one in which he surpassed himself, is a picture in the same church (i. e. San Domenico at Fiesole), near the door on the left hand of the entrance: in this work, he proves the high quality of his powers as well as the profound intelligence he possessed of the art which he practised. The subject is the Coronation of the Virgin by Jesus Christ: the principal figures are surrounded by a choir of angels, among whom are vast numbers of saints and holy personages, male and female. These figures are so numerous, so well executed, in attitudes so varied, and the expressions of the heads so richly diversified, that one feels infinite pleasure and delight in regarding them. Nay, one is convinced that those blessed spirits can look no otherwise in heaven itself, or to speak under correction, could not, if they had forms, appear otherwise; for all the saints, male and female, assembled here, have not only life and expression, most delicately and truly rendered, but the colouring also of the whole work would seem to have been given by the hand of a saint, or of an angel like themselves. It is not without sufficient reason therefore, that this excellent ecclesiastic is always called Frate Giovanni Angelico. The stories from the life of Our Lady and of St. Dominic which adorn the predella, moreover, are in the same divine style; and I, for myself, can affirm with truth, that I never see this work but it appears something new, nor can I ever satisfy myself with the sight of it, or have enough of beholding it."[25]
The painting is now in the Louvre at Paris, having been taken from Fiesole during the French invasion of 1812.
Under a rich canopy with inlaid columns and brocade hangings the Redeemer seated on the throne, places the crown on the head of his Mother, who kneels before him, with hands crossed on her bosom. Around them angels are making the air resound with the voice of song, and the music of many instruments. Saints, male and female circle round, some standing, others kneeling, their fixed eyes and ecstatic features denoting their joy in such divine splendour. Among the saints are the great personages of the religious orders, together with bishops and emperors. On the right, among the kneeling female saints are seen St. Agnes tenderly pressing the lamb to her breast, St. Catherine holding her wheel of torture and a palm, St. Ursula clasps the arrow which united her in death to her divine Spouse, St. Cecilia's pretty head is garlanded with flowers, while St. Mary Magdalene turns her back showing the rich locks of hair flowing over her shoulder as she holds the vase of ointment in her left hand. On the opposite side are St. Dominic with the lily and open book, St. Augustine, St. Benedict, St. Anthony and St. Francis. On a higher level St. Louis, with his crown of fiordalise, talks with St. Thomas; while St. Nicholas supports himself with both hands on his pastoral staff.
"It is a clever composition, wonderfully balanced, and the solemnity of style does not at all exclude exuberance of life or infinite variety of ideas.
"The bodies are almost diaphanous, the heads ethereal, the atmosphere and light have a touch of the supernatural. Up to this point the subject is subdued, but the colours lively and pure—among which blue and carmine predominate—gleam with particular splendour."[26]
The predella contains in some small compositions the chief episodes in the life of St. Dominic, excepting the central compartment where Christ is drawn, issuing from the sepulchre between the Virgin and St. John. The compositions are all executed with that love and delicacy which are the glory of the artist, but even these little stories, like the larger panel, have been more or less injured by repeated restorations.
A similar subject now in the Uffizi Gallery at Florence and which Fra Angelico painted for the church of Santa Maria Novella, is still more aerial and celestial, a perfect masterpiece of sentiment and mystic expression.
Here also Fra Angelico clings to that traditional characteristic, peculiarly his own—the art of sacred vision, but with what new life he animates it, and what poetical witchery he throws into this creation of his ascetic fantasy!
His predecessors reproduced with slight varieties the model of Giotto, and the great Florentine painter himself has given us the scene in its most simple reality. High in the central part of Giotto's "Coronation" Christ places the crown on the Virgin, who with hands crossed, bows her head to receive the homage of her Son. But on her face there is no expression of ecstatic joy, modest, indeed "humble in the midst of glory", she droops her eyes, almost as if she dared not rest them on the Saviour. Angels and saints, symmetrically disposed at the sides, fill the whole background of the picture, with heads either raised in admiration or bowed in respect, but in attitudes so similar, that they give a sense of monotony. Then come the saints, some kneeling at the foot of the throne, and others in the side wings of the triptych, reverently bowing to the Mother of God.
Fra Angelico repeats the principal motive, but develops it according to his high ideal, his intense faith, and mystic sentiment. He gives to the Virgin an expression of infinite sweetness; to the angels a truly celestial charm, to the saints a serene expression of beatitude, and to the whole scene the azure divine character of a vision of Paradise.
High in the centre the Redeemer extends his right hand to add a brilliant gem to the crown of the Virgin, who sits near him, with hands crossed in loving reverence. A luminous golden ray from this group engraved on the panel, forms gleaming and resplendent waves in the background of the picture, from which groups of angels stand out, playing all sorts of music, or dancing with hand clasped in hand. Two are prostrated in profound admiration at the base, and shed clouds of incense from their thuribles, while two others draw melody from heavenly harps.
In the lower part of the picture are many saints, who by their charmed faces and feeling of ineffable joy, show how delighted they are with the vision and the heavenly music.
ANCIENT AND MODERN GALLERY—FLORENCE.
THE LAST JUDGEMENT.
"The greatest eloquence," writes Marchese, "would fail to express the impression which this painting produces. The heart has a language which does not always speak in words, and we can never contemplate this picture without feeling in love with heaven."[27]
Among the works which were undoubtedly done by Fra Angelico during his stay at Fiesole, may be ascribed several different representations of the Last Judgment. He derived the inspiration of the subject directly from Orcagna's fresco in Santa Maria Novella, only Fra Angelico has created a paradise too exclusively modelled on the monastic life. "His ideal," writes Reymond, "is a young neophyte entirely absorbed in prayer—a contemplative being who has renounced earthly life, abdicating his qualities as a man to dream of nothing but the future life. Orcagna, on the contrary, dreams of an ideal in which human life triumphs in all its fulness, and one might say that the beings which people his Paradise are but glorified bodies."[28]
Fra Giovanni painted Hell and Paradise with small figures for the Camaldolese monks of Santa Maria degli Angeli. This is the picture now in the Ancient and Modern Gallery at Florence, of which Vasari writes, "he proved the rectitude of his judgment in this work, having made the countenances of the blessed beautiful and full of a celestial gladness; but the condemned, those destined to the pains of hell, he has depicted in various attitudes of sorrow, and bearing the impress and consciousness of their misdeeds and wretchedness on their faces: the blessed are seen to enter the gate of paradise in triumphal dance, the condemned are dragged away to eternal punishment in hell by the hands of demons."[29]
The representation is faithful to artistic tradition. In the highest part the Saviour calls the elect to Him with His right hand, while with His left He motions away the reprobate: around Him are eight winged cherubim, with whom kneeling angels below join to form a circle. Some are adoring or praying, others hold scrolls in their hands. On the right sits the Virgin in white robes, with hands crossed on her breast and head gently bent: on the left St. John Baptist with hands clasped in prayer. At the sides Patriarchs, Apostles and Prophets, and at the extremities St. Dominic and St. Francis. An angel holds the cross at the feet of Christ, and two others flying, blow their trumpets towards the dead, who rise from the open sepulchres below.
In the base at the left, demons drag the damned ones to Hell; on the right the elect cast glances of love and faith on the Saviour, and in joyous fraternity enjoy the heavenly guerdon. The Elysian Fields of the blessed are truly celestial, gleaming with gold, irrigated by limpid streams, glorious with beautiful flowerets that bloom amid the verdure, the exuberance of nature harmonizing marvelously with the joy of the elect.
Thousands of angels, in resplendence each Distinct and quaint adornment. At their glee And carol smiled the Lovely One of heaven That joy was in the eyes of all the blest.[30]
Not unworthy of the divine poet is Angelico's heavenly composition in which as in the Dantesque Paradise is shed
Light intellectual replete with love, Love of true happiness, replete with joy, Joy, that transcends all sweetness of delight.[31]
Together with these verses of Dante, Fra Angelico, while endeavouring to depict the dance of the blessed, may well have called to mind these verses of a sacred laud, which is said to be by Iacopone da Todi and (whether his or not) describes in popular language the celestial caròla[32] of the saints:
Una rota si fa in cielo De tutti i Santi in quel zardino, LÃ ove sta l'amor divino Che s'infiamma de l'amore.
In quella rota vano i Santi Et li Angioli tutti quanti; A quello Sposo van davanti: Tutti danzan per amore.
In quella corte è un' alegreza D' un amor dismisuranza: Tutti vanno ad una danza Per amor del Salvatore.
Son vestiti di vergato, Bianco, rosso e frammezzato; Le ghirlande in mezo el capo: Ben mi pareno amatori.
Tutti quanti con ghirlandi, Paren giovin' de trent' anni: Quella corte se rinfranchi, Ogni cosa è piena d'amore.
Le ghirlande son fiorite, Più che l'oro son chiarite: Ornate son di margarite, Divisate di colore, ecc.[33]
Above from the heavenly Jerusalem stream rays of golden light, and two angels who are passing into the portal, are aerial and luminous, as bright and splendid spirits.
Less original is the representation of Hell, which is copied straight from the fresco in the Pisan Camposanto. Not only the same division of bolge (hell-pits), but even the repetition of motives in the souls that fill them; the only and notable difference is the figure of Lucifer which instead of being in the centre occupies the base of the picture. At the summit "Eriton cruda, che richiamava l'ombre a' corpi sui," is precisely in the same attitude as in the Pisan Camposanto, a figure holding a banner coiled around by a serpent, and near it is a simoniac with his entrails torn out, the identical figure from the Pisan Hell. The back view of the figure which a demon raises to throw into the jaws of a terrible monster is also copied entire from the same fresco.
The bolge and the damned souls which occupy them, are, as we have said, repetitions, but with less intelligence and character than the Pisan fresco.
On the left the slothful and lazy are punished; beneath them in two bolge are the passionate and the gluttonous souls, and below again the luxurious and avaricious ones. The poverty of conception in this "Inferno" is not even compensated by the usual good qualities of refinement; one could almost believe that the artist found it so repugnant to his character to depict brutality and infernal tortures, that he hurried over this part to get rid of it the sooner. The representation of the damned is cold, their struggles with the demons, which at Pisa and in other places is so full of energy, is given here with exaggerated art and becomes ineffectual; in fact this part of the picture is void of feeling, and confirms our previous remarks on the artistic character of the painter.
Another "Last Judgment" is in the Corsini Gallery at Rome;—a triptych, the side panels of which represent the "Ascension" and the "Descent of the Holy Ghost."
This scene is, however, much more simply designed, but cannot be fairly judged now, on account of the retouching and frequent varnishing which disfigure it.
The Saviour seated on the clouds, rests his left hand on a book which he holds upright on his knees, while the right is raised in malediction against the sinners, with an action which recalls the Christ in the Judgment of the Camposanto at Pisa. On the sides are groups of angels, apostles and saints; and the elect are on the right, the wicked on the left below them. "In the picture of the Corsini Gallery," writes Venturi, "the representation was cramped by the narrow limits of the central panel of the triptych. It is evidently a reduced form of preceding compositions, for several angels which terminate the picture above, are here seen only from the waist downwards. The figures of the elect, loving, ecstatic and beautiful, clad in flame-coloured robes, with stars and flowers, as in similar compositions by Fra Angelico, are absolutely sublime, while those of the wicked are almost
childish, especially the demons with faces of cats and jackals, with red eyes and mouths, black bodies and clawed feet. How much happier he is in the clear and joyful note of colour in some figures standing before a door on the right! And how much better we recognise his sweet spirit in the features of the blest, with their clear eyes whose pupils are fixed trance-like under lightly drawn eyebrows."[34]
Another panel with a subject analogous to these is in the Berlin Museum, and is considered superior to that in the Florentine Gallery.[35] Although the figure of the Saviour may be slightly wanting in character, the celestial phalanx is full of grace, especially the blessed ones who cross a flower-strewn field to be led by angels up to paradise; they hold each others hands, and dance and sing delightfully and with graceful action and attitudes raise their heads to join in the glory of Colui che tutto move e risplende
Nel ciel che più della sua luce prende.
Another last Judgment forms one of the thirty-five small pictures which adorned the doors of the presses for the silver vessels etc., in the chapel of the SS. Annunziata. It is generally believed that he painted this during his stay at Fiesole; but as we find it dates posterior to this, we shall speak of it later, and must first record that in 1432 Fra Angelico painted an "Annunciation" for the church of Sant' Alessandro at Brescia, said to be the one on an altar to the right on entering the church. So greatly is it transformed by restorations, that no one in looking at it now would dream that it was by our artist, if indeed it ever were his work. It would appear that the restorer had used other models in repainting the Angel and the Virgin.[36]
On July 11th 1433 the contract was signed between the Consuls of the Arte dei Linaioli (Guild of Linen Weavers) and our artist, for the tabernacle of which they had asked Lorenzo Ghiberti to give a design. The contract says: "We engage Fra Guido, called Fra Giovanni of the Order of St. Dominic of Fiesole, to paint for the said Guild, a tabernacle of Our Lady; to be painted within and without with colours, gold, azure and silver, all of the very finest that can be found, with all his art and diligence, and for all this and his fatigue and work, he shall receive one hundred and ninety gold florins, or any less sum as shall appear to his conscience, and in consideration of the figures that are in the design."
This painting is now to be admired in the Uffizi Gallery where it was placed in 1777; it is too universally known to need a minute description. The Virgin enthroned with the Holy Child is surrounded by twelve angels, the most lovely, graceful and celestial that Fra Angelico ever painted. In the interior of the side panels are St. John and St. Mark, in the exterior St. Peter and St. Mark. The latter, as is well known, was the protector of the Linen Guild: "therefore," says Padre Marchese, "they wished that whether the tabernacle were open or closed, he should be always in their sight."
In this work Fra Angelico shows that his style was derived from Giotto and Orcagna, though his figures with their large heads, are treated like miniatures and become insignificant; the result is cold and void, precisely by reason of this over conscientious execution.
| ST. MARK. | ST. JOHN BAPTIST. |
The face of the Virgin lacks expression and sentiment, while the angels depicted on the slope of the frame in act of sounding trumpets, psalters, cymbals etc., have such a sweetness of sentiment that they seem literally rained down from heaven.
