FLORENCE, Italy — Italy is currently hosting its most significant Fra Angelico retrospective since 1955 at the Palazzo Strozzi and Museo di San Marco. Amid the grandeur of the artworks and the achievement of assembling them, one might overlook the intricate details, such as the marble on which John the Baptist stands in the Perugia Altarpiece. Often ignored in major English-language reviews, these veined stones hold profound mystical meanings.
A major question in Fra Angelico studies is the extent of theological symbolism woven into his pieces, influenced by his Dominican studies. Theologically driven artistic evolution, as promoted by Franciscans and Dominicans, called for new styles to meet spiritual needs. Scholars such as Donal Cooper, Joanna Cannon, and Holly Flora have begun to explore these themes, with symbols like blood and gold only scratching the surface.
The Museo di San Marco, a former monastery, serves as a poignant venue for the exhibition. It highlights many of Fra Angelico’s frescos painted for personal devotion, like the “Mocking of Christ” (1439–41). The curators, however, skirt around a debated question: why did Fra Angelico emphasize marble and stone details in his work?
In the “Montecarlo Annunciation Altarpiece” (1432–35), marble elements are so visually striking that they draw attention away from Mary and Archangel Gabriel. The dazzling stones, evoking both fire and water, invite comparisons to abstract art. These “zones of stone” appear prominently in many works showcased, raising questions about their theological purpose for a friar bound by vows of poverty.
Exploring the significance of marble and stone alters perceptions of several exhibited works. In 1990, art historian Georges Didi-Huberman explored the marble’s iconography in his influential book, suggesting Fra Angelico used these elements to inspire the faithful, drawing on ideas from Giovanni di San Gimignano’s writings. Didi-Huberman’s theories, though minimally acknowledged in the exhibition, propose that Fra Angelico’s use of stone was a deliberate embrace of sacred dissimilitude.
