Fra Angelico, Santa Trinita Altarpiece (Deposition from the Cross) 1429-32.
Join us on 21 and 28 October, 5pm to 7.30pm for a special two evening Short Course with Dr Richard Stemp.
This autumn there will be an exhibition, the likes of which only Florence can stage, dedicated to Fra Angelico (c.1395-1465), one of the most significant artists of the Early Renaissance. Across two locations, and with connections to others sites across Italy, Angelico will be the first major display of the artist’s work in over 70 years. It has provided the opportunity to conserve numerous works, and bring more together than ever before.
First recorded as a Dominican friar, his art manages to combine a profound sense of religiosity with the latest innovations of the Florentine Renaissance. As a young artist, he was influenced by painters and sculptors alike, and the exhibition will chart this dialogue, and the subsequent development of his work.
Led by art historian and lecturer Dr Richard Stemp, our two evenings examine the Florence into which Fra Angelico was born, the development of his career as seen in the two sections of the exhibition, and his influence on the generations which followed.
Includes four lectures with Q&A. Tickets £40 (Tickets are for both dates. Ticket holders will be emailed the Zoom link and Passcode in advance of the first session, please retain this for accessing both sessions of the course. Our events are recorded and ticket holders also receive a link to view the recordings which will be accessible for a month)
Session One: Origins
Tuesday 21 October, 5pm - 7.30pm
Fra Angelico, (detail) The Last Judgement, 1425-1430. San Marco, Florence
Lecture One — A melting pot: Florence at the beginning of the 15th Century
The exhibition promises to explore ‘the production, development, and influence of Fra Angelico’s work in dialogue with painters such as Lorenzo Monaco, Masaccio, and Filippo Lippi, as well as sculptors like Lorenzo Ghiberti, Michelozzo, and Luca dellaRobbia’, and in this first talk we will look at the rich tapestry of styles prevalent in Tuscany in the first quarter of the 15th Century would have helped to form the unique style of the ‘angelic brother’.
Lecture Two — Fra Angelico: As seen at the Palazzo Strozzi
The second talk of the evening will focus on the developing career of the ‘Angelic Brother’ as embodied by the unfolding display in the Palazzo Strozzi. It will effectively be a ‘virtual tour’ of this section of the exhibition, an introduction to anyone planning to go, a recap for those who have been, or a substitute for those who won’t be able to make it.
Session Two: Influence
Tuesday 28 October, 5pm - 7.30pm
Fra Angelico, Annunciation, 1440-45. Convent of San Marco, Florence.
Lecture Three — At home in San Marco
San Marco was just one of the ‘homes’ of the Dominicans in Florence – but the order only moved there in the 1430s: Fra Angelico was one of those who first occupied the premises. As part of the rebuilding and redecoration of the premises, he not only painted the San Marco Altarpiece for the for the high altar of the church – one of his most significant works – but also all of the cells occupied by the Friars, together with other communal spaces of the Friary. We look at these ‘decorations’ in detail, one of the true splendours of the Early Renaissance, and the reason why only Florence could host a real tribute to the artist.
Lecture Four — Students and Successors
Some of members of the workshop involved in the decoration of San Marco would have followed the master to Orvieto and Rome. We look at the later works produced by the master himself, and also at paintings by artists such as Benozzo Gozzoli and Zanobi Strozzi who were his true heirs. However, later Dominicans also became the ‘official artists’ of the Dominican order, and we also consider their work. These include Fra Bartolomeo and Suor Plautilla Nelli, the most active of Florence’s 16th century women artists whose work is still sadly little known.
This course will be recorded. Ticket holders are emailed a link to view the recordings afterwards which are available for one month. Proceeds from ARTscapades ticket sales benefit museums, galleries and other arts-based organisations and projects.
This is an online event hosted on Zoom which can be watched live with Q&A, or on-demand for one month afterwards. You will receive your link to access the event in your email confirmation and the on-demand link after the event ends.