Let's cut to the chase: this wonderful exhibition on Fra Angelico is a must-see. Everything that follows is simply to explain why. Fascinatingly, Fra Angelico (c.1395–1455) was not known by that name during his lifetime; it was bestowed on him posthumously by his order, the Dominicans, to honour his memory. His birth name was Guido di Piero, and he took the name Fra Giovanni on joining the Dominicans. Fra, obviously, just means brother, as all friars are called.
The astonishingly brilliant works on view are spread over two magnificent Florentine venues, the Museo di San Marco and the Palazzo Strozzi, within relatively easy walking distance of each other. A smart move would probably be to begin at San Marco, the artist’s own friary. As exhibition co-curator Stefano Casciu put it, the Museo di San Marco is now universally recognised as Fra Angelico’s museum on account of his extraordinary frescoes there, as well as his renowned San Marco Altarpiece. Casciu also observed that Fra Angelico remains to all intents and purposes the Museo’s guiding spirit.
