fcr; 10 H W. E. DU1T3, I Fra Angelico GEORGE BELL & SONS LONDON : YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN NEW YORK : 66, FIFTH AVENUE, AND BOMBAY: 53, ESPLANADE ROAD CAMBRIDGE : DEIGHTON, BELL & CO. Fra Angelico LANGTON DOUGLAS LONDON GEORGE BELL AND SONS 1900 CHISWICK PRESS: CHARLES WHITTINGHAM AND CO. TOOKS COURT, CHANCERY LANE, LONDON. TO JEAN AND WALTER PALMER PREFACE Some six or seven years ago I began to make the art of Fra Angelico a special subject of study. In course of time, becoming more and more intimately acquainted with the master through his works, the conviction came to me that the popular conception of him was mistaken au fond, and that, as an artist, Fra Angelico had never received fair and adequate treatment. The present work owes its inception to that fact. In seeking to reconstruct for myself his artistic personality, I have not put trust in the conclusions of any other critic, however eminent, but have relied only upon evidence obtained from the artist's paint- ings and drawings, and upon the testimony of con- temporary documents. There are some who will think that I have attached too much importance to Fra Angelico's studies of Nature and of antique art. They will, perhaps, con- demn my whole point of view as "academic" and " stylistic," so applying to it two epithets which to their ears are the most damning that can be con- ceived. " If," they will say, " this conception of Fra Angelico is the right one, then so much the worse for Fra Angelico." But, indeed, it seems to my judgment that in the b Vlll PREFACE great and endless controversy which divides the realm of art, the truth lies, as it so often does in this world, somewhere in the middle ground between two extreme positions. It dwells neither with the in- transigenti of classicalism on the one hand, nor with the propounders of that creed of artistic anarchism which is now so fashionable, on the other. The perfect painter, I venture to think, is not the copyist of Nature or of classical art ; but he is not independent of either. As a flower artist, in the spring-time, in a garden of Japan, chooses, and culls, and combines, blooms from here and there with which to make a flower symphony—a symphony that has its origin in his own imagination ; as the literary artist selects, sometimes from an ancient treasure-house of language, sometimes from the very mint itself, the words that will most aptly fit his " thought ; as the musician gathers his notes and forms his chords until he bring forth from chaos glorious harmony"; so from the forms of antique art, as well as from Nature the painter " selects the elements of his own exquisite combinations." Yes ! the creator of beautiful things can go down to Archaeology's valley of dry bones, and, from what he finds there, can construct his perfect shapes, clothing them with flesh, and breathing into them the breath of life. And this did Fra Angelico in the Quattro- cento. I have sought to show that, saint as he was, he did not trust only to dreams and visions, nor did he neglect either observation of Nature or the study of classical art. He did not lay up the artist's gift of PREFACE ix seeing in a napkin, but he put it to constant, fruitful use. My best thanks are due to Sir Walter Armstrong, Mr. Bernhard Berenson, Father Charles Bowden, Mr. Sidney Colvin, Herr C. von Fabriczy, Mrs. Dormer Fawcus, Miss Duff Gordon, Mrs. Herring- ham, Mr. Ernest Hobson, Mr. Charles Loeser, the Lord Bishop of London, the Cavaliere Girolamo Mancini, Dr. J. P. Richter, Mr. S. A. Strong, Pro- fessor Villari, and Dr. G. C. Williamson, for various acts of kindness. CONTENTS PAGE List of Illustrations . xiii Bibliography • xix Introductory i Chap. I. Early Life .... 14 II. First Fiesolan Period 30 III. Second Fiesolan Period 64 IV. San Marco .... 84 v. Rome ..... 117 VI. Conclusions .... 161 Appendix I. On the Influence of Fra Angelico .... 175 „ II. Fra Angelico and the Choir-books of S. Marco 180 Documents . 182 Index to the Works of Fra Angelico 191 General Index 201 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE " San Lorenzo giving Alms." (Photogravure plate) Frontispiece A fresco in the chapel of Nicolas V. in the Vatican. 1. The Annunciation and the Adoration of the Magi 34 A small panel, formerly at Sta. Maria Novella, now at San Marco, Florence. 2. The Madonna della Stella ..... 34 A small panel, formerly at Sta. Maria Novella, now at San Marco, Florence. 3. The Assumption and Dormition of the Virgin . 36 A small panel, formerly at Sta. Maria Novella, and lately in the possession of Lord Methuen. 4. The Coronation of the Virgin .... 38 A small panel, formerly at Sta. Maria Novella, now at San Marco, Florence. 5. The Annunciation. (Photogravure plate) . 44 An altar-piece in the Oratorio del Gesu at Cortona. 6. The Angel Gabriel 44 A portion of the altar-piece in the Oratorio del Gesu at Cortona. 7. The Visitation ....... 44 Part of the predella of the above picture. 8. The Dormition of the Virgin .... 46 Part of the predella of the same picture. 9. The Dormition of the Virgin .... 46 A small panel-picture, now in the Gallery of the Uffizi. xiv LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE 10. The Coronation of the Virgin .... 54 An altar-piece now in the Louvre. 11. The Coronation of the Virgin .... 56 An altar-piece, now in the Uffizi, Florence. " " 12. II Ballo dei Angeli (Photogravure plate) . 58 A detail from the " Last Judgment " in the Florence Academy. 13. Early Studies for the "Last Judgment" which is now in the National Gallery, Rome . 60 In the Chantilly Collection. 14. The Annunciation ....... 62 An altar-piece, now in the Gallery of the Prado at Madrid. 15. The Madonna dei Linajuoli . .66 An altar-piece, now in the Uffizi. 16. An Angel 66 A detail from the Madonna dei Linajuoli. 17. The Preaching of St. Peter .... 66 Part of the predella of the Madonna dei Linajuoli, now in the Uffizi. 18. The Madonna of Cortona ..... 66 An altar-piece in the church of San Domenico at Cortona. 19. The Madonna of Annalena .... 68 An altar-piece, now in the Florence Academy. 20. The Madonna of Perugia. (Photogravure plate) . 68 The central part of an altar-piece, now in the Pina- coteca at Perugia. 21. Two Angels 68 A detail from the Madonna of Perugia. 22. St. John the Baptist and St. Catherine of Alex- andria 70 Part of an altar-piece, now in the Pinacoteca at Perugia. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE 23. St. Dominic and St. Nicholas of Bari . 72 Part of an altar-piece, now in the Pinacoteca atPerugia. 24. The Vision of St. Nicholas of Bari, and the Preaching of St. Nicholas . -72 Part of the predella of the Perugia altar-piece, now in the Gallery of the Vatican. 25. The Martyrdom of St. Mark .... 76 Part of the predella of the Madonna dei Linajuoli, now in the Uffizi. 26. Five Canopies 78 From pictures painted by Fra Angelico between the years 1430 and 1445. 27. The Madonna of San Marco .... 86 An altar-piece, now in the Florence Academy. 28. St. Cosmo and St. Damian before the Judge Lysias 88 Part of the predella of the Madonna of San Marco, now in the Munich Gallery. 29. The Attempted Burning of St. Cosmo and St. Damian 88 Part of the predella of the Madonna of San Marco, now in the National Gallery, Dublin. 30. The Deposition ....... 90 An altar-piece, now in the Florence Academy. 31. Christ as a Pilgrim, met by two Dominicans . 98 A fresco in the cloister of San Marco, Florence. 32. The Crucifixion 94 A fresco in the cloister of San Marco, Florence. 33. "The Great Crucifixion" 100 A fresco in the chapter-house of the convent of San Marco, Florence. 34. The Crucifixion 102 A drawing in the Albertina Collection. A study for a fresco of the " Crucifixion " in the corridor of the upper floor at San Marco, Florence. xvi LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE 35. The Annunciation 104 A fresco in an upper corridor of the convent of San Marco, Florence. 36. The Transfiguration .106 A fresco in a cell in the convent of San Marco, Florence. 37. The Maries at the Sepulchre .... 108 A fresco in a cell in the convent of San Marco, Florence. 38. The Coronation of the Virgin .... 108 A fresco in a cell in the convent of San Marco, Florence. 39. Mary and Martha .108 A portion of a fresco in a cell in the convent of San Marco, Florence. 40. The Nailing to the Cross no A fresco in a cell in the convent of San Marco, Florence. 41. The Adoration of the Magi . .112 A fresco in a cell in the convent of San Marco, Florence. 42. The Madonna and Saints 112 A fresco in an upper corridor of the convent of San Marco, Florence. 43. The Nativity 120 In the Florence Academy. One of the small pictures of the series that adorned the silver-press of the church of the Annunziata, at Florence. 44. The Massacre of the Innocents .... 122 In the Florence Academy. One of the small pictures of the series that adorned the silver-press of the church of the Annunziata, at Florence. 45. The Flight into Egypt 122 In the Florence Academy. One of the small pictures of the series that adorned the silver-press of the church of the Annunziata, at Florence.