Fra Angelico

Early Renaissance painter Fra Angelico (c.1395-1455) created some of the most serene and spiritually moving religious works in Western art. A Dominican friar who painted only sacred subjects, he combined medieval devotion with Renaissance innovations in perspective and spatial depth. His luminous colors and gentle figures convey profound faith. Giorgio Vasari praised him, noting that one could not paint such works without being a saint.

Born Guido di Pietro, he became a Dominican friar between 1420-1422, taking the name Fra Giovanni da Fiesole at San Domenico in Fiesole. With patron Cosimo de' Medici's support, he created over 50 works for the convent of San Marco in Florence, including the famous Annunciation fresco. His frescoes for Pope Nicholas V at the Vatican followed. Angelico pioneered techniques that paralleled Masaccio's achievements. He was buried in Rome's Santa Maria sopra Minerva in a marble tomb near the altar, rare honor for an artist. Pope John Paul II beatified him in 1982 and declared him patron of Catholic artists in 1984. His works remain at the Museo di San Marco in Florence and the Vatican Museums.