Fra Angelico and the rise of the Florentine Renaissance

A seriously interesting and scholarly book about the brilliance of Fra Angelico’s luminous work in Florence and beyond.

The catalogue for the 2019 Fra Angelico exhibition at the Prado, which places Fra Angelico at the forefront of the Renaissance, this superbly informative book vividly reveals the delicacy, detail, and passion of Fra Angelico's (and other Renaissance artists) religious depictions which, like visiting the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, awakens profound respect for the faith of those who crafted these monuments of devotion nearly 600 years ago. Additionally, using recent reflectography and X-radiography restorative work, it also reveals Fra Angelico's intentions, thinking process and working methods for The Annunciation. Though the reproduction quality of the paintings understandably cannot match hi-res online imagery, the achievement of this wondrous book is to enliven a refreshened view of hitherto familiar images - religious images conceived and brought to fruition by an almighty spirit of belief, yet of lessening interest in our increasingly secular age - and seems to compensate in every way for not actually having been able to see the exhibition.