,art manifests whatever is most exalted1
 and it manifests it to all--,,taine    
,,fra ,,angelico  ,a ,,sketch  ,,by     
,,jennie ,,ellis ,,keysor  ,author of   
,sketches of ,american ,authors         
,illustration  ,,educational            
,,publishing ,,company  ,,boston  ,,new 
,,york ,,chicago ,,san ,,francisco  ,the
 art of ,angelico1 both as a colorist   
and a draughtsman1 is consummate2 so    
perfect and so beautiful that his work  
may be recognized at a distance by the  
rainbow-play and brilliancy of it3      
however closely it may be surrounded by 
other works of the same school1 glowing 
with enamel and gold1 ,angelico's may be
 told from them at a glance1 like so    
many huge pieces of opal among common   
marbles4  --,,john ,,ruskin4  ,the light
 of his studio came from ,paradise4     
--,,paul ,,de ,,st4 ,,victor4  ,his     
world is a strange one--a world not of  
hills and fields and flowers and men of 
flesh and blood1 but one where the      
people are embodied ecstasies1 the      

colors tints from evening clouds or     
apocalyptic jewels1 the scenery a flood 
of light or a background of illuminated 
gold4 ,his mystic gardens1 where the    
ransomed souls embrace and dance with   
angels on the lawns outside the ,city of
 the ,lamb1 are such as were never      
trodden by the foot of man in any       
paradise of earth4  ,fra ,angelico's    
,madonnas are beings of unearthly       
beauty1 and words fail to convey any    
idea of their ineffable loveliness and  
purity4 ,his angels too are creatures of
 another sphere1 and purer types have   
never yet been conceived in art4 ,the   
drawing of the hands of his angels and  
,madonnas is most exquisite--charming in
 tender yet subtle simplicity of        
outline4  --,,timothy ,,cole4           
,copyrighted1 #aijj1 by ,,educational   
,,publishing ,co4  ,illustration3 ,,fra 
,,angelico     ,,fra ,,angelico4        
#achg--adee4  ,let us for a few moments 
turn our attention to a monastery a     
short distance from ,florence4 ,from its

 elevated position on the hills which   
skirt the vale of the ,arno it commands 
a panoramic view of the ,lily ,city4 ,it
 is the time when the ,renaissance is   
virgin new to the world4 ,faith was     
still so real and living a thing that   
men and women shut themselves up from   
the world in order to live holy lives   
and devote themselves entirely to the   
service of ,god4  ,it is a body of such 
men on the heights of ,fiesole that     
interests us4 ,they are ,dominican      
monks1 of the order of great preachers1 
founded long ago by ,st4 ,dominic4 ,over
 long white robes the brothers1 or      
frates1 as they are called1 wear black  
capes and back from their tonsured heads
 fall hoods1 which protect them in      
inclement weather4 ,it is a prosperous  
monastery surrounded by goodly fields4  
,in some1 the olive groves blossom in   
the spring-like snow1 or wear foliage of
 richest green as the season advances4  
,in others1 the yellowing grain waves in
 the upland summer breeze4 ,the monks   

are busy people1 many without in the    
fields tilling the fruitful soil or     
gathering in the abundant harvest4      
,indoors there is the silence which     
attends toil1 intense and absorbing4    
,the cellar and kitchen are in perfect  
order and in the refectory1 or dining   
room1 the table is spread for the next  
frugal meal4 ,in the scriptorium1 or    
writing room1 several monks are busy    
copying ancient manuscripts on          
parchment4 ,one does this work1 using   
the most exquisite lettering1 while     
another indites the hymns long loved by 
the church4 ,this other1 bending over   
his task1 from a rich palette makes the 
vine to run1 the dragon to coil1 the    
angel head to shine1 the tropic bird to 
fly from out the lettering of his book  
or1 more ambitious still1 he decorates a
 broad margin with an elaborate design4 
,mayhap he devotes an entire page to the
 deliniation of some favorite saint4--  
,what joy it is to labor so1      ,to   
see the long-tressed angels grow        

,beneath the cunning of his hand1       
,vignette and tail-piece subtly wrought6
  ,here in the walk of the cloisters1   
his pallid face lit up by fiery eyes1   
strolls another1 the preacher of the    
monastery4 ,to-night he will electrify  
his audience with the eloquence of his  
sermon that shall tell of the curse of  
evil1 of the saving power of love4      
,yonder1 with the face and attitude of  
one who prays1 painting a lovely angel  
with flame upon her forehead1 with stars
 upon her robe and with a golden trumpet
 in her hand1 is a man whose fancy has  
outgrown the margin1 the full page even1
 of the beloved parchment book1 and so  
he fills a whole wall with his vision   
from ,paradise4 ,little need is there to
 name this painter-monk4 ,it is ,fra    
,angelico1 the ,angelical ,painter1 ,il 
,beato1 ,the ,blessed4  ,to this man1   
who prays as he paints and who paints as
 he prays1 we are to give our attention 
for a time4 ,it is particularly         
delightful to find such a character in a

 time when holy men and women sometimes 
forgot their religious vows and ordinary
 citizens1 in their scramble for place1 
lost sight of the laws of honor and     
manhood4 ,in a time of greed it pleases 
us to find a man1 who1 though his art   
was the fashion of his period1 would    
take no money for his pictures2 in a    
time of ambition for place1 to find one 
who could refuse an elevated position   
because he did not think himself fitted 
to fill it2 to find a man so simple and 
yet so wise that he knew the work       
allotted to him in life and had the     
devotion to stick to it in spite of     
inducements to give it up4              
,illustration3 ,,florence4  ,such a man 
was ,fra ,angelico1 the sweet character1
 the beautiful artist of heavenly       
visions1 the man to whom ,ruskin goes   
back as the embodiment of correct       
principles in art1 even beyond ,raphael1
 the idol of the ages4 ,fra ,angelico is
 the last figure of the old simple time 
in art when the spirit counted for most4

 ,he lingered long on the threshold of  
that later time1 when men forgot the    
spirit in their enthusiasm for copying  
the real thing as it presents itself in 
nature4  ,now that we know what the     
prosaic artists of that prosaic time    
taught1 namely to draw correctly1 we go 
back to the visions of the angelical    
painter and hug them to us as a rich    
bequest1 a glimpse1 as it were1 of that 
paradise closed to mortal eyes4 ,along  
other lines too1 it is good for us to   
study the men and women who were great  
enough to be simple1 to be devoted4 ,in 
art it is quite as good and equally     
delightful4  ,whoever tells the story of
 ,fra ,angelico's life has few dates and
 events with which to entangle his      
reader's treacherous memory4 ,the story 
is told when the man and his spirit have
 been portrayed1 when his surroundings  
at various periods have been described4 
,it is forced home to us1 therefore1    
that we ought to know well the history  
of the company of men to whom he        

belonged and was devotedly attached for 
almost fifty years of his life4  ,we    
have already spoken of these monks at   
,fiesole and of their pursuits4 ,as they
 gazed out upon ,florence1 the matchless
 city of the ,arno1 it was with longing 
hearts as homesick children1 for they   
had been banished from the loved city as
 a matter of discipline1 years before4  
,as they looked out from their          
commanding windows1 they forgot the     
glorious scenery about them in an       
intense desire to be at home again4 ,in 
a small way they shared the agonized    
grief of ,dante1 an exile in ,ravenna's 
drear waters1 when he knocked in vain at
 the closed gates of his loved and      
native ,florence4 ,theirs1 however1 was 
a kinder fate than that which befell the
 renowned poet1 for they were recalled  
to ,florence4  ,the monastery of ,san   
,marco was emptied of some monks of     
another order and the place given over  
to the reformed ,dominicans4 ,singing   
hymns of praise1 arrayed in their black 

and white1 they filed down from the     
heights of ,fiesole to ,san ,marco1     
while the expelled monks departed with  
downcast mien and sore lamentations4    
,the restored monks found ,san ,marco   
hardly fit for habitation1 so ruinous   
was its condition4 ,cosimo de ,medici   
came to their relief and repaired and   
beautified the building4 ,in addition1  
he had a sort of chapel or retiring room
 fitted up in it for himself to which he
 might come for quiet and for           
consultation4 ,willingly the monks dwelt
 in huts while the repairs and          
decorations were going forward4 ,we     
shall learn later how ,angelico         
embellished the walls of cloister and   
cell until the thoughts of the angelical
 brother were laid bare to his          
companions1 so that1 to-day1 perhaps the
 chief reason for the throng of visitors
 to this unattractive building is the   
fact that here ,fra ,angelico lived and 
painted4  ,the ,dominicans were restored
 to ,florence and their home1 ,san      

,marco1 began its career1 if1 indeed1 we
 may say that a building can have a     
career1 as an essential factor in       
,florentine history4  ,we may love ,fra 
,angelico but1 after all1 the most      
interesting association in many minds   
for ,san ,marco is not his sweet life in
 its brotherhood or his heavenly faces  
upon its walls1 but rather that here    
studied1 taught1 preached and died      
,savonarola1 that pure patriot1 that    
noble1 although often mistaken man1 that
 most eloquent orator that ,florence has
 given to the world4 ,as simple as      
,angelico and as free from              
place-seeking1 he was the soul and voice
 of the ,florentine people when faction 
rent the city and threatened its very   
existence4 ,that clear voice1 prompted  
by a magnificent love1 by a burning     
zeal1 sometimes makes us forget that the
 zeal was often misguided1 and that     
disobedience to authority is not always 
the best way of effecting reform4       
,illustration3 ,,duomo1 ,,florence      

7,,santa ,,maria ,,del ,,fiore7  ,san   
,marco1 standing off there from the     
,duomo1 is a plain building1 but to the 
thoughtful visitor to-day there are     
echoes of footfalls sounding down those 
tenantless halls1 which make the heart  
quicken its beating1 the cheek flush1   
and the eye dim2 for it is ,savonarola's
 voice that he hears1 ,angelico's brush 
that he marks1 the wise counsel of      
,antonio that falls on his ear1 instead 
of the sights and sounds of sense4      
,three times1 at least1 in the history  
of ,italian art a pure light1 a fresh   
stream has flowed in from the           
hills--,raphael from ,urbino among the  
heights of ,umbria1 ,titian from the    
crags of ,cadore and now ,angelico from 
the slopes of the ,apennines in the     
fertile district of ,mugello4 ,each     
brought with him from his native hills a
 vigor and devotion new to the dwellers 
below4  ,at ,vecchio1 a small town      
crowning one of the spurs of the        
,apennines1 ,fra ,angelico was born1 in 

#achg4 ,his father was a certain        
,pietro1 or ,peter1 and there was an    
older son who afterwards bore the name  
,benedetto4 ,now1 the name ,angelico1 by
 which we love to call our angel        
painter1 was really not his name at all4
 ,he was simply ,guido1 the son of      
,pietro1 and when he entered the        
monastery he was given yet another name1
 ,giovanni1 or ,john4 ,fate1 or fame    
rather1 destined that he should not be  
known either by his birth name or by his
 religious name4 ,what his hand could   
do1 what his heart could show were the  
things which determined his name4       
,because he painted angels so           
matchlessly they called him ,brother or 
,fra ,angelico1 because his heart opened
 so unselfishly to his fellow men they  
called him ,beato1 ,the ,blessed1 and by
 these names we know him to-day4  ,from 
what ,vasari tells us1 that ,guido might
 have lived at ease had he so desired1  
we know that his father was a man of    
means4 ,what the boy's education was we 

are unable to tell definitely4 ,from the
 surroundings of his home at ,vecchio we
 can infer much1 especially in the light
 of ,angelico's later work4 ,hardly     
twenty miles from ,florence1 on the road
 to ,ravenna1 the hill town of ,vecchio 
must have taken a keen interest in the  
stirring events ever going on in the    
,florence of the early ,renaissance4    
,we can imagine1 however1 that1 though  
these things impressed the young ,guido1
 the beautiful scenery surrounding his  
home held a deeper meaning for him4     
,here were fine olive groves1 there     
rocks grew bare and jagged1 refusing to 
produce anything except scrubby         
underbrush4 ,a frowning precipice yonder
 lost none of its forbidding character  
because of the crown it wore--a fine    
castle1 which told by its towers and    
turrets1 where watchmen stood or paced  
throughout the lonely hours1 that the   
age when lusty knights rode forth to    
harry each other's domain was not wholly
 past4  ,illustration3 ,,the            

,,annunciation  ,that castle1 gleaming  
white and menacing through the olive    
trees1 is one of the country seats of   
the powerful ,medicean family4 ,the boy 
,guido and his brother have often seen  
the great ,cosimo walking in his garden 
or riding on the highway4 ,indeed1 the  
boys have been accosted by him and      
questioned regarding their sports4  ,it 
was not1 however1 the power of man1 who 
plants his dwellings on the heights of  
the earth or grows fat upon the produce 
of her soil1 that most deeply impressed 
our young artist4 ,to him the pearly    
white of the summer cloud1 the cerulean 
blue of the endless depths of air1 the  
amethyst1 ruby and topaz of the sky at  
sunrise or sunset were more4 ,they      
seemed but reflections of a glory beyond
 cloud and sky1 where the hosts of the  
blessed forever praise their redeeming  
,lord4 ,those soft and melting colors   
slid into his soul and years later he   
poured them forth in the garment of some
 trumpeting angel1 blessed ,madonna1 or 

rejoicing brother4  ,illustration  ,in  
his tenderness for nature we can imagine
 that the little creatures of the woods 
fled not at his approach but rather     
stayed to receive from his hand food or 
a loving caress4 ,the flowers that      
bespangled the soft ,tuscan turf sprung 
up after his foot had pressed them1 so  
light was his step1 so gentle the       
thought that in him reigned4 ,the boys  
were constantly together1 sharing in the
 rambles and sports which their home    
region encouraged4 ,their love increased
 until it was sealed by the vow that    
made them brother monks as well as      
brothers in flesh and blood4  ,at the   
age of fourteen ,guido left home1       
probably for purposes of study1 but we  
cannot trace his course during the next 
six years4 ,we know not if1 like        
,titian1 he crushed flowers to obtain   
their colors to paint with1 in his      
boyhood days1 but somehow1 somewhere in 
those early years he learned the        
rudiments of the art by which the world 

knows him to-day4  ,illustration  ,with 
such a boyhood1 remote from the marts of
 trade1 surrounded by all that is       
loveliest in nature1 we are not         
surprised to find him at the age of     
twenty anxious to follow a religious    
life4 ,it is possible that1 during those
 six years just previous to his entering
 the convent1 he may have studied       
miniature painting or illuminating in   
some monastery1 where his purpose to    
become a monk took definite form4       
,however that may be1 in #adjg1 he      
sought out the monastery of ,fiesole and
 entered as a novice1 to begin the study
 and privations which should prepare him
 for the life of a ,dominican friar4 ,to
 his great joy his elder brother joined 
him soon after and was given the name   
,benedetto4  ,the novices were sent for 
a time to the older convent of ,cortona4
 ,here the training in the love of      
,nature1 which began in the hills of    
,vecchio1 was continued4 ,the convent of
 ,cortona stood upon an elevation       

overlooking the placid waters of ,lake  
,trasemene1 where1 in ancient times1    
,hannibal gained a great victory over   
the ,romans4 ,all about were the remains
 of massive masonry1 built in the remote
 past by the ,etruscans4 ,three islands 
broke the quiet surface of the little   
lake and on one of them stood a         
monastery4 ,i wonder if1 on days of     
relaxation1 the holy men1 rowing across 
to visit their brothers of the island1  
did not catch some of the finny tribe   
that inhabited the lake1 or snare some  
of the wild fowl that lived along its   
margin4  ,our angelical painter probably
 was not attracted by such matters4 ,the
 prospect of lake and hill and wood1    
which daily opened before him1 deepened 
all his early impressions and so1 almost
 unconsciously1 the training for his    
future work continued4 ,meanwhile1 too1 
he probably practiced assiduously in the
 parchment books of the monastery the   
art of illumination4  ,illustration     
,shortly after ,angelico took upon      

himself the full vows of a monk1 the    
whole religious body of ,fiesole was    
removed to ,foligno4 ,here they remained
 for several years1 until the plague    
broke out and they fled to ,cortona1 the
 same town where ,angelico had spent    
several years of his novitiate4 ,by this
 time he had become a full fledged      
painter1 as is shown by the work he left
 in two ,dominican churches of ,cortona4
 ,there is reason to believe that when  
,angelico1 an old man1 was on his way to
 ,rome to paint for the ,pope1 he gave1 
in exchange for the courtesies of the   
convent of ,cortona to a traveller1 some
 pictures of the ,madonna which are     
still to be seen in the church of ,st4  
,dominic in ,cortona4  ,the brotherhood 
was later recalled to ,fiesole4         
,angelico must often have gone down to  
,florence and there have seen the work  
of his great contemporaries in art4     
,massaccio was the artist1 above all    
others1 who was attracting attention at 
this time4 ,his work was the most       

accurate representation of real things  
that had yet been made by any artist in 
,italy4 ,fra ,angelico must have seen   
his work and profited by it1 too4  ,but 
he never forgot his early inspiration   
drawn from the hills and from the       
morning and evening skies1 and so he    
went back1 in spite of any small        
influence of the new art1 to pore over  
the parchment page and to make the      
vision of his soul write itself down in 
fadeless color on golden backgrounds4   
,what he saw of artists' work outside of
 the convent had one marked influence1  
however4 ,our devout painter began to   
feel trammeled by the narrowness of a   
margin1 indeed of an entire page1 and he
 turned to the ample space furnished by 
the walls of convent and church4        
,illustration  ,it was shortly after the
 return of the brotherhood from ,cortona
 that they were given the church and    
convent of ,san ,marco in ,florence4    
,after long absence they were to return 
home and their hearts were lifted in    

song4 ,when the repairs were completed1 
,cosimo bethought him of the            
painter-monk of the brotherhood1 and    
asked him to make the house beautiful   
for his brethren4 ,whether ,cosimo      
remembered those early days when he had 
accosted two boys in the vicinity of his
 castle we do not know1 but it seems    
certain that he knew of the mature      
artist's work and his reputation        
throughout ,tuscany4  ,it must have been
 a great joy to ,fra ,giovanni to be    
given this congenial task in which he   
could glorify ,god and gratify his own  
passion for art4 ,henceforth he left the
 parchment books to his brother to      
embellish while he occupied himself on  
the larger space his soul had long      
craved4  ,lest this work1 which he loved
 so dearly1 should be done in a spirit  
of self-indulgence1 he laid certain     
strictures upon himself in carrying it  
on4 ,he believed that he had a message  
direct from ,god to bear to men through 
his pictures1 so he never undertook one 

of them without prefacing the work with 
a season of fasting and prayer1 and     
then1 when he began his work1 he never  
changed a stroke lest he prove          
disobedient to the heavenly vision4     
,often and often his lips moved in      
prayer while his hand laid on the colors
 of the robes or the gold of the        
background4  ,while he painted the      
,crucifixion tears streamed down his    
cheeks in sympathy with the agony there 
endured4 ,the pictures of a man who     
painted in such a spirit are not mere   
works of art4 ,they are more1 for they  
lay bare to us a human soul1 making the 
thoughts he thought our own1 the        
devoutness and sympathy he felt a part  
of our own lives4  ,illustration3 ,,the 
,,crucifixion  ,savonarola thundered    
forth his message from the pulpit of    
,san ,marco2 ,angelico delivered his1   
more enduring1 though hardly less       
eloquent1 on his knees1 through the     
rainbow colors on his palette4 ,in an   
age when monasteries and convents were  

an essential part of civilization1 it   
was a mighty contribution that ,san     
,marco gave to the world in the earnest 
preacher1 in the angelic painter4 ,both 
were simple men1 great in their         
devotion1 leaders of their age in their 
respective places1 but the one was      
wending along a quiet way that should   
terminate peacefully in a secluded grave
 in ,rome1 while the other was moving on
 like a whirlwind1 tearing up many      
things sacred in its course and ending  
in a violent death4  ,everyone talks of 
,angelico's work in ,san ,marco4 ,let us
 see what it was1 what we should look   
for were we to go there to-day4 ,in the 
cloister1 where the monks were          
constantly passing to and fro1 are many 
of his best works4 ,here above a        
doorway1 is ,st4 ,peter1 ,martyr        
standing with his finger on his lips in 
token of the silence that should reign  
in a holy house4 ,above another door two
 of the brotherhood welcome their ,lord1
 a weary traveller4  ,illustration3     

,,detail ,,from ,,the ,,crucifixion  ,in
 a larger space he has painted the angel
 ,gabriel announcing the coming of the  
,christ ,child to the youthful ,mary4   
,the sweet submissiveness of ,mary      
together with her mild surprise at the  
angelic appearance1 the grace and       
earnestness of ,gabriel1 with his wings 
still spread1 as if just alighted from  
heaven1 are wholly to our satisfaction  
for representing this naive scene from  
sacred history4  ,here1 too1 we find the
 solemn last scene in the ,christ-drama1
 as ,the ,annunciation was the first4   
,the ,crucifixion1 which we find here1  
was simply portrayed1 but with a pathos 
that ,angelico's sympathetic nature     
would naturally show4 ,it was afterwards
 reproduced in each of the cells4  ,in  
the chapter house we find a more        
elaborate representation of the         
,crucifixion4 ,here it is large enough  
to fill an entire wall and its          
excellence hardly in proportion to its  
size4 ,the attention is drawn from the  

great central figure to the figures at  
the foot of the ,cross1 whose awe and   
adoration are well expressed by the     
painter4 ,it was in the room            
adorned-with this great fresco1 that    
,george ,eliot had ,romola and          
,savonarola meet in their famous        
interview4 ,that the presence of the    
solemn picture added force to that      
powerful scene goes without saying4     
,into the cloisters1 the chapter house1 
the chapel1 men of the world might enter
 and look about4 ,not so the narrow     
cells1 huddled together1 where each monk
 was supposed to commune with his ,lord 
in uninterrupted silence4 ,for these    
narrow cells1 forty in number1 ,fra     
,angelico did his best work1 believing1 
doubtless1 with the ancient builders    
that ,the gods see everywhere4 ,the     
subjects selected were the events in    
,christ's life and to each cell was     
given one chapter1 as it were1 from the 
wondrous story4 ,nothing could more     
forcibly prove the absolute devotion of 

the painter1 his total disregard for the
 attention of men1 than his dedication  
of his best work to the narrow and dimly
 lighted cells of ,san ,marco4          
,illustration3 ,,madonna ,,della        
,,stella  ,long ago the good brothers of
 ,san ,marco were sent away and the     
doors thrown wide to the public1 who now
 call it the ,museum of ,san ,marco4    
,easel pictures have been gathered here 
to swell the number of ,angelico's works
 in the place that was so long his home4
 ,one of these is a small copy1 made by 
the artist1 of what is known to us as   
the ,tabernacle ,madonna which is in the
 ,uffizi gallery in ,florence4 ,the     
glory of this work is not in the        
,madonna or the child she holds but1    
strange to say1 in the frame which      
encloses the picture4 ,a broad band of  
smooth gold intervenes between the outer
 and inner molding of the frame and in  
this space are painted the twelve angels
 playing various musical instruments1   
which are so familiar to us to-day4     

,since ,angelico's time1 no matter what 
artist has essayed the task of angel    
painting1 none has approached so nearly 
as the angelical painter of ,san ,marco 
to our ideal of these heavenly beings4  
,we all of us have some more or less    
definite notions of how angels should   
look4 ,we may be painfully literal on   
other subjects but1 though there is no  
science on which to base our demand1 we 
want them with white or jeweled wings4  
,sometimes1 in our most rapt moods1 the 
air about us seems filled with these    
ethereal beings1 tending on the sick and
 dying1 leading little children1        
ministering to prisoners as to ,peter of
 old1 bringing comfort to us in our     
sorrows4 ,this1 of course1 is a fancy   
and yet it is such fancies that have    
made ,fra ,angelico's representations of
 angels a real joy to man through all   
the centuries since he painted them with
 more than mortal power4  ,his angels   
that we enjoy most are not those        
entrusted with some special mission1 but

 they are of that great multitude whose 
joy it is to bring good tidings of great
 joy to men4 ,here is one glowing in    
ruby red1 the color of passion4 ,she    
lifts on high her golden trumpet and we 
know that ,god is a ready helper1       
waiting only to be summoned to our      
rescue4 ,another1 arrayed all in green1 
the color of spring1 brings us hope1    
without which man would be crushed by   
the iron weight of his sorrows4 ,this   
one in blue bears her message of        
heavenly love and fidelity4 ,that one in
 yellow1 the color of the sun itself1   
brings light to those who sit in        
darkness4 ,truly they are a ministering 
band with their halo-encircled heads1   
their heavenward-lifted eyes1 their     
star-bespangled robes4  ,illustration3  
,,coronation ,,of ,,the ,,virgin4  ,what
 matter if critics tell us that         
,angelico's knowledge of anatomy was    
defective and that it is fortunate for  
his angels that their creator           
represented them all closely draped8    

,their talk for centuries has not made  
the devout painter's fame one whit less1
 while all the time his angels have been
 bringing comfort to generations of men 
and women4  ,another picture in ,san    
,marco we scan carefully4 ,it is ,the   
,coronation of the ,virgin4 ,this was a 
favorite subject with the painter1      
perhaps because it represents the final 
reward of the world's great mother--the 
crown placed upon her head by her       
enthroned ,son4 ,we remember how        
exquisitely ,correggio depicted the same
 event1 with what supreme grace his     
lovely virgin bends her matchless head  
to receive the diadem4 ,hardly less     
beautiful are ,fra ,angelico's pictures 
of this subject1 even though they were  
painted half a century before           
,correggio's birth4 ,the best of        
,angelico's pictures of ,the ,coronation
 of the ,virgin is now in the ,louvre1  
where the beautiful ,virgin is          
surrounded by tier upon tier of         
rejoicing angels4  ,for nearly forty    

years ,fra ,angelica had served his     
convent faithfully1 with devout life and
 the work of his hand4 ,everything paid 
for his pictures went to swell the      
income of the convent4 ,he never took an
 order without first consulting his     
prior4  ,his fame had long ago reached  
,rome4 ,the art-loving ,popes of that   
time could not remain oblivious to his  
great ability4 ,in #adde1 the quiet life
 of the monastery was interrupted by    
,pope ,eugenius1 who called ,angelico to
 ,rome to assist in decorating the      
,vatican4 ,we can easily imagine that   
there was some shrinking on ,angelico's 
part at severing the ties that had held 
him so long among the brothers of his   
order4 ,this may have been somewhat     
offset by a vague desire to see ,rome1  
the pilgrim city of the ,christian      
world4  ,however that may be1 he obeyed 
the call of the ,pope and journeyed by  
easy stages1 passing from convent to    
convent1 until the ,holy ,city was      
reached4 ,it would have been an         

interesting journey to have taken with  
the pious monk4 ,one could have seen how
 the various monasteries exercised one  
of the most beneficial purposes of their
 organization1 that of ministering to   
tired and hungry travellers4 ,at many   
convents at whose doors he appeared1 a  
stranger1 he probably left pictures and 
certainly the memory of a charming      
personality4 ,perhaps he relieved for an
 hour some weary illuminator of the     
parchment and left a page of his work to
 encourage the tired monk4  ,the ,pope  
who called ,angelico to ,rome did not   
live long after the painter's arrival   
there1 but he did not die before he had 
shown special favor to the monk of ,san 
,marco4  ,taking for granted that1      
because ,angelico could paint such      
beautiful pictures he could do          
everything else equally well1 he asked  
him to become the ,archbishop of        
,florence1 one of the most important    
church offices within the gift of the   
,pope4 ,how we admire the good brother  

when he responded1 with the simplicity  
which was so marked a characteristic of 
him1 ,i can paint pictures but ,i cannot
 rule men4 ,and further1 how we delight 
in him as he recommends another brother 
of his order1 ,fra ,antonio4 ,that his  
judgement in this matter was equal to   
his generosity is proved by the fact    
that ,antonio became the wisest         
archbishop ,florence had ever had4  ,the
 successor of ,pope ,eugenius1 ,nicholas
 ,v41 also extended his friendship and  
protection to the painter4 ,here in     
,rome he lived for the last ten years of
 his life4 ,his work here was largely   
confined to the chapel of ,nicholas ,v41
 in the ,vatican1 which he decorated    
with scenes from the lives of ,st4      
,lawrence and ,st4 ,stephen4 ,for years 
this chapel was closed to the public and
 the key lost1 so that when it was      
re-opened it seemed as if a new set of  
works belonging to ,fra ,angelico had   
been discovered4  ,illustration3        
,,flight ,,into ,,egypt  ,when the heat 

of summer came on in ,rome1 the painter 
from the hills of the ,arno wilted under
 the depressing influence and he longed 
for his native heights4 ,an opportunity 
for release from the stagnant weather of
 ,rome during the months of ,june1 ,july
 and ,august came from an unexpected    
quarter4 ,it was the time of the        
building of the great ,italian          
cathedrals4 ,every large community      
seemed bent on excelling its neighbor in
 the splendor of the church it erected4 
,florence reared her ,duomo1 the ,santa 
,maria del ,fiore1 ,siena built her fine
 cathedral1 striped black and yellow    
like a tiger4  ,orvieto1 near by1 had   
witnessed a wonderful miracle1 and in   
remembrance of it her citizens          
determined to build a cathedral that    
should be more beautiful than any other 
in ,italy4 ,so much in earnest were the 
people of ,orvieto in undertaking this  
work1 that they gave their holidays to  
drawing materials for it from the hills 
near by4 ,in eight years1 an incredibly 

short time in the building of a         
mediaeval cathedral1 it was sufficiently
 finished for holding religious         
services4 ,it was three hundred years1  
however1 before the people had made it  
the wrought jewel that it stands to-day4
  ,in the delicacy and elaborateness of 
its ornament it is the most splendid    
church in ,italy4 ,a hundred and fifty  
skilled sculptors worked their best on  
the carving4 ,nearly a hundred workers  
in mosaic put together cunningly the    
bits of glass and precious stones which 
make its rich and vari-colored mosaic4  
,almost as many master painters added   
their work to the precious structure4   
,the facade is like some grand screen1  
with its exquisite bas-relief1 its      
glistening and intricate mosaic and its 
delicate pinnacles1 every one crowned   
with a statue4  ,such a beautiful and   
substantial structure was a fine crown  
for this ancient town1 rising almost    
like a rock-cube from the barren ravines
 below4 ,it was to help adorn this      

wonderful church that the building      
council urged ,fra ,angelico to quit    
,rome each year through the sickly      
summer4 ,all arrangements were completed
 and our artist once more breathed the  
hill air to which he was born4  ,on one 
of the walls he planned to represent    
,the ,last ,judgment a subject which he 
had previously painted4 ,he never       
proceeded further than to the completion
 of the figure of the judging ,christ4  
,this fragment is the strongest piece of
 work ,angelico ever did4 ,it is        
probable that the mighty ,angelo studied
 this figure before painting his own    
,last ,judgment4 ,the critic who        
compares the two ,christs must1 it seems
 to me1 ever decide in favor of the one 
made by the ,angelical painter4 ,the    
combination of strength and compassion  
in ,angelico's is far more to our       
notions of the gentle ,christ1 sitting  
as ,judge of all the world4 ,if         
,angelico had finished the work at      
,orvieto1 it would doubtless have been  

much like the one we may study to-day in
 the ,academy in ,florence4 ,let us     
consider that for a moment4             
,illustration3 ,,paradise4 7,,detail    
,,of ,,last ,,judgment7  ,it was a      
strange subject for one with so mild and
 loving a nature to undertake1 but we   
must remember that it was the favorite  
theme of the age1 so that all sorts of  
painters tried their hands at it4 ,here 
,christ sits enthroned1 encircled by    
angels1 while below him1 divided by a   
long line of unopened graves1 are the   
blessed and the condemned4 ,in depicting
 the former our angel painter was       
perfectly at home4 ,what a joyous host  
they are as they tread the flowery      
meadows and appear in the searching rays
 of heaven's own light6 ,one group1 a   
monk embraced by an angel1 is reproduced
 in this sketch4  ,even if for a time   
,angelico was able to summon the power  
by which he could portray an avenging   
and yet pitying ,christ1 he lost that   
power when he tried to image forth the  

agony of the condemned1 the wickedness  
of ,satan4 ,so the picture stands1 half 
in the glory of fine and characteristic 
execution and half in the darkness of   
inadequate workmanship4  ,just why      
,angelico never went back to ,orvieto we
 do not know4 ,it is probable that the  
infirmities of age were pressing upon   
him4 ,perhaps1 too1 he was reserving his
 surplus strength for a last visit to   
his beloved ,florence4 ,hither we know  
he came1 in the last years of his life1 
and painted for the ,church of the      
,annunciation a little cupboard to hold 
the gold and silver vessels used about  
the altar4 ,it was a delicate task not  
wholly unlike the miniature work with   
which1 in his early years1 he had       
adorned the parchments of his monastery4
  ,illustration3 ,,facade ,,of ,,orvieto
 ,,cathedral  ,thirty-five panels were  
filled with scenes from the life of our 
,lord4 ,the series is done in the spirit
 of a man who knows the ,scriptures and 
medieval legend to a point1 and all the 

time there shines through the painted   
figures the saintliness1 the mystic1    
far-away thoughts of the artist4 ,it was
 a beautiful work to give to his home   
city in the evening of his quiet life4  
,the work completed1 he wended his way  
back to ,rome where he died1 in #adee1  
or1 as a contemporary historian says1   
,envious death broke his pencil and his 
beautiful soul winged its way among the 
angels to make ,paradise more joyous4   
,he was buried in the ,church of ,santa 
,maria ,sopra ,minerva where he had     
lived since his first coming to ,rome4  
,his tomb is simple enough1 enriched    
merely with the quaint figure of a      
,dominican monk1 with his hands crossed1
 and wearing the dress of his order4 ,at
 the feet of the stone monk is this     
epitaph1 composed by ,nicholas ,v41     
,angelico's friend and patron--         
,not that in me a new ,apelles lived1   
,but that thy poor1 ,o ,christ1 my gains
 received2      ,this be my praise3     
,deeds done for fame on earth      ,live

 not in heaven4 ,fair ,florence gave me 
birth4  ,what his appearance was we     
cannot tell with certainty as no        
authentic portrait of him remains to us4
 ,from imaginary and traditional        
portraits we get our only notions of how
 the angelical painter looked1 and these
 are likely to fall far short of giving 
us correct ideas of the face of one     
whose character was well-nigh faultless4
  ,living the secluded life of a monk1  
we should hardly expect to find many    
pupils to continue his work after him4  
,one there is1 however1 who is always   
spoken of as ,angelico's pupil1 and that
 is ,benozzo ,gozzoli1 whose angels at  
times approach in beauty those of the   
master-painter of angels4 ,benozzo was  
the artist who completed the work that  
,angelico began at ,orvieto4  ,we have  
found the facts of ,angelico's life few 
and not at all startling and yet his    
character was such that it left an      
indelible impress on his age4 ,we cannot
 better close this sketch than by       

quoting from ,vasari1 who thus sums up  
the character of his devout             
countryman3--  ,this father1 truly      
angelic1 spent all his life in the      
service of ,god and for the good of the 
world and his neighbor4 ,in truth1 the  
great and extraordinary powers possessed
 by ,fra ,giovanni could not have       
existed except in a man of most holy    
life4 ,he was a man of simplicity and   
most holy in his ways4444 ,he withheld  
himself from all worldly deeds1 and     
living purely and holily1 he was such a 
friend to the poor that ,i think his    
soul is now in heaven4  ,he worked      
continually at his pictures and would   
never treat any but religious subjects4 
,he might have been a rich man but he   
cared not to boast1 and used to say that
 true riches consisted in being content 
with little4 ,he might have had command 
over many but would not1 saying that    
there was less trouble and risk in      
obeying than in commanding4444 ,he was  
most gentle and sober1 and1 living      

chastely1 freed himself from the snares 
of the world2 and he was wont to say    
that whoever followed art had need of   
peace and to live without distracting   
thoughts1 and that he who does work that
 concerns ,christ must live continually 
with ,christ4  ,he was never known to   
get angry with the monks2 if anyone     
desired work from him he would say that 
he would obtain consent of the ,prior to
 it1 and then would not fail to fulfill 
the request4 ,in fact1 this father1 who 
cannot be sufficiently praised1 was in  
all his works and conversation most     
humble and modest1 and in his painting  
dexterous and conscientious1 and the    
saints of his painting have more the air
 and resemblance of saints than those of
 any other painter4   ,,subjects ,,for  
,,composition ,,and ,,special ,,topics  
#a4 ,angels in ,art4  #b4 ,savonarola1  
the ,orator of ,san ,marco4  #c4        
,antonio1 the ,good ,archbishop of      
,florence4  #d4 ,the ,angel-,painter of 
,san ,marco4  #e4 ,an ,illuminated      

,manuscript4  #f4 ,with ,angelico on    
,his ,way to ,rome4  #g4 ,in the ,cells 
of ,san ,marco4  #h4 ,how ,monasteries  
,have ,served ,civilization4  #i4 ,a    
,day with the ,dominicans at ,fiesole4  
#aj4 ,some ,hill ,towns of ,tuscany4    
#aa4 ,two ,gothic ,cathedrals of ,italy4
 7,siena and ,orvieto17   ,,references  
,,for ,,fra ,,angelico4  #a4 ,life of   
,fra ,angelico 444 ,sweetser4  #b4 ,life
 of ,fra ,angelico 444 ,phillimor4  #c4 
,makers of ,florence 444 ,oliphant4  #d4
 ,sketches and ,studios in ,southern    
,europe4 7,orvieto7 444 ,symonds4  #e4  
,the ,fine ,arts 444 ,symonds4  #f4 ,old
 ,italian ,masters 444 ,cole4  #g4      
,friar ,jerome's ,beautiful ,book 444   
,aldrich4  #h4 ,art and ,artists 444    
,clement4  #i4 ,angels in ,art4444      
,clement4  #aj4 ,the ,monk as           
,civilizer4 ,kingsley4