"It was a thrilling moment when I realised I was in the presence of an early masterpiece by Fra Angelico. This panel exemplifies his deep religious conviction. Intensely personal, it also expresses his understanding of the revolutionary achievement of the great Florentine sculptors of his time. The tenderness with which Christ is depicted is matched by the raw emotion of the Virgin and the pathos of the kneeling Magdalen clinging to the Cross, the thickness of which is revealed by the position of her arms. Every gesture is perfectly weighed. The sensitivity of the painter’s use of colour is evident in the way the blood both of Christ and the pelican above is matched in the robe of the Magdalen. With Fra Angelico nothing was accidental," Francis Russell, Deputy Chairman of Christie's UK, recalls his discovery of Fra Angelico's panel painting The Crucifixion with the Virgin, Saints John the Baptist and Magdalene at the Foot of the Cross, which he published in a 1996 issue of the prestigious Burlington Magazine. Kept in a private collection, the masterpiece will come up for auction on 6 July as one of the highlights of Christie's Classic Week in London with an estimate of £4-6 million.
See also: Cimabue: Late Medieval Genius
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In addition to the study of contemporary sculpture mentioned by Russell, the skilful use of color and the associated sensitive depiction of the figures, it is the correct rendering of the perspective of the cross that makes Fra Angelico's Crucifixion a seminal work of the early 15th century (made probably between 1419 and 1424). In contrast to his contemporaries, Fra Angelico chose a logical frontal view of the cross and dispensed with the depth effect of the crossbeam and footrest, which was common at the time but incorrect. This advancement in perspective made Fra Angelico an important representative of the early Florentine Renaissance.
See also: How the Medici Family Influenced Renaissance Florence
Fra Angelico's (1395/99 - 1455) talent was appreciated and admired even during his lifetime. His oeuvre, permeated by his deeply felt religiosity, earned him the nickname Il Beato ('The Blessed One') and posthumously Il Beato Angelico ('The Angelic Blessed One'). His real name was Guido di Pietro and his religious name was Dominican Fra Giovanni da Fiesole, after the place where he took his vows to become a Dominican friar. Giorgio Vasari called him Fra Giovanni Angelico in his artist biographies around 1555 and described his talent as "rare and perfect." In 1982, Fra Angelico was beatified for his devotion to God as a painter.
The current auction record for Fra Angelico was set at Christie's New York in June 2022, when the small-scale work Saint Dominic and the Stigmatisation of Saint Francis sold for £3.8 million.
