Fiesole Altarpiece

The Fiesole Altarpiece is a Maestà: the Virgin seated on a throne with the Child, surrounded by eight adoring angels arranged in two semicircles and flanked by the saints Thomas Aquinas, Barnabas, Dominic and Peter of Verona. Three of them belong to the Dominican Order, and Barnabas is the patron saint of the donor, whose generous gift helped rebuild and enlarge the convent of San Domenico in Fiesole. The Child reaches toward two roses his mother holds: a white one, a symbol of purity, and a red one, which foreshadows the Passion and connects with the Eucharist, the sacrament celebrated at the high altar for which the painting was made. The composition recalls Masaccio's Saint Juvenal Triptych, and it is among the earliest polyptychs to place all its figures within a single space. The background was repainted in 1501 by Lorenzo di Credi, who removed the original gold and added a decorated throne and landscapes. Today the work is part of a group whose predella survives in the National Gallery in London, along with several scattered panels.

Painter

Fra Angelico

Date

1420

Medium

tempera, gilt paint, panel

Dimensions

212 × 237 cm

Museum

convent of San Domenico

Movement

Italian Renaissance

Genre

religious art

Depicts

Barnabas, Peter of Verona, Mary, Saint Dominic, Christ Child, Thomas Aquinas

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